Category: “Wolf Hall”

By Adrian Lobb

Claire Foy plays Anne Boleyn in the BBC2 adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, alongside Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis and Mark Gatiss

Are you filming anything at the moment?

No, I’m not working. Just pottering around the house. We are attempting to sell our flat and there is crap everywhere. Oh, gosh, it is so boring. We have a baby imminently on the way as well. Perfect timing. We planned it all really well!

How much did you know of Anne Boleyn before you got the role?

I knew as much as everyone else knows, especially anyone who has been to primary school in England where you are taught the ‘divorced beheaded, died’ rhyme. She was always, obviously, the most interesting one. But we have all these ideas of what she is like, that she had six fingers, that she had loads of affairs, that she was a witch and a terrible, terrible wife. That is the impression I got as a seven year old. It is amazing that such crude propaganda lasts that long.

History is famously written by the winners, and I guess Anne didn’t win…

They destroyed so much of her legacy. They got rid of everything. I knew vaguely about her, from watching the Henry VIII with Ray Winstone and Helena Bonham Carter, who is the most amazing Anne Boleyn. And that was everything you imagine – she was sexy, crazy, dangerous. But then I read Wolf Hall and was surprised. She wasn’t at all how she was written by history. She was mean, not very attractive – I thought she was meant to be this massive sexpot! Cromwell finds her attractive in his own way, but he sees her more as a political player than a woman. She was not a woman by his standards, she has very dark hair, she is quite a dark person – not blonde and buxom and shiny like her sister. That is why I loved the books so much, it was so exciting to meet these new people, it was like reading someone’s diary, you were discovering them.

Do you see Wolf Hall, the novel and now the series, as rewriting history or correcting it?

It is Hilary Mantel’s interpretation of what might have happened. She is not taking liberties and changing stories, she is going with the facts and events of the time. You are genuinely looking at what might have happened, and what their psychologies might have been. I was taught as an actor that you start from what you know as factual. What makes her work so amazing is that you feel like it happened. I’m playing the Anne Boleyn that Hilary wrote. Continue reading Claire Foy interview: “Anne Boleyn is the underdog, but she has massive balls…”

The tense third episode of the BBC’s Wolf Hall confirmed it as a stellar political drama, says Tim Martin

5 stars

The gloves had to come off at some point. The third episode of Wolf Hall (BBC Two) opened as Thomas More (Anton Lesser) primly delivered a homily to a Protestant heretic under torture. Cut to Mark Rylance’s Thomas Cromwell, gazing at a tapestry of a woman with fire under her feet and a sword at her throat. Cut again to Cromwell, in audience with Anne Boleyn herself. By this stage in the drama the queen-in-waiting (Claire Foy) was playing a dangerous game, but, tragically, straying out of her depth. Continue reading Wolf Hall, episode 3, review: ‘better and darker’

Tonight is the second episode of the TV show everyone’s talking about. If you’re playing catch up, here’s our guide to everything you need to know about Wolf Hall

Neelanjona Debnath

Last week Wolf Hall became the biggest drama series on BBC Two for a decade after 3.9 million tuned in to watch the first episode. It’s also received glowing reviews all round from the critics.

The six-part drama set in the 16 Century during the reign of Henry VIII and focuses on the dissolution of his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon. But it’s Thomas Cromwell who is the main character rather than the king.

If you missed the start of the BBC Two Tudor drama but are planning on tuning in for the second episode tonight, we’ve put together a handy guide to help get you up to speed in time.

What’s it all about?

Wolf Hall is a fictional historical drama. It follows the rise of lawyer Thomas Cromwell during the reign of Henry VIII and Cromwell’s attempts to secure an annulment for the king from Catherine of Aragon. After 20 years of marriage she has failed to produce a male heir and now the king has set his sights on Anne Boleyn.

Actually, now that you mention it, Wolf Hall sounds familiar…

Wolf Hall has been adapted from Hilary Mantel’s 2009 Man Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name. It is the first book in a trilogy and the follow up Bring Up the Bodies again won the Man Booker Prize in 2012. Mantel will be concluding the series with The Mirror and the Light. Wolf Hall was also adapted into a play by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2013. Continue reading Wolf Hall: everything you need to know about BBC Two’s Tudor drama

Episode 2: Scheming queens-in-waiting, tangled lines of succession and men of lowly birth rising to power – sound familiar?

Neela Debnath

If last week was the start of this delicate and dangerous game of chess, the players merely assembled and ready, then tonight they begin to make their first moves. Just one step wrong and that could be the end – much like Cardinal Wolsey (Jonathan Pryce) who ends up dead leaving Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) to find a new master in Henry VIII (Damien Lewis).

Game of Thrones fans tuning in to watch Wolf Hall might notice similarities between the politicking in King’s Landing and Henry VIII’s court – and they wouldn’t be wrong.

George RR Martin was partly inspired by the reign of the English monarch while writing his A Song of Ice and Fire novels, and it’s not hard to see why: this is no boring history lesson, it’s compelling stuff. You really do win or you die at Henry’s court.

The power play keeps us hooked: Cromwell’s “interpretation” of Henry’s dream illustrates perfectly how the lawyer is manipulating the situation to help secure the King’s divorce from his first wife Katherine of Aragon (Joanne Whalley) to clear the way for Anne Boleyn (Claire Foy). Continue reading Wolf Hall, Entirely Beloved – TV review: Like Game of Thrones, but without the dragons or White Walkers

Corsets, codpieces and going commando — dressing as a Tudor is quite the costume drama. We pile on the velvet and pull up our tights for a big Wolf ball

Susannah Butter
Guy Pewsey
Joshi Herrmann

There is no requirement to read the book first. Political intrigue combined with the triumvirate of Damian Lewis, Mark Rylance and Claire Foy in a study of a court ruled by ambition and desire make the television adaptation of Wolf Hall an instant Wednesday night watch. But what really grabs us is the costumes. In last night’s episode we saw Mary Boleyn stroking Thomas Cromwell’s Italian grey velvet jacket admiringly. This sumptuous fabric was enough — apparently — to make her forget Cromwell is old enough to be her father.

Meanwhile codpieces and corsets trended on Twitter and Pinterest is humming with mood boards about 16th-century apparel. Even Valentino gave a nod to the era in his Paris couture show yesterday. Everyone wants a Wolf Ball. The prize venue is Hampton Court Palace — which celebrates its 500th anniversary this year with the reopening of the wine fountain and roaring fires designed to roast an entire cow.

With all that in mind, we visited the National Theatre Costume Hire Department, where they are dusting off the bustles in anticipation of a Wolf Hall inspired renaissance for 16th-century themed parties (Downton and Gatsby saw similar boosts in Edwardian and flapper garb).

Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall’s author, says our fascination with the Tudors comes from our ability to recognise ourselves in them. That includes the appeal of getting trussed up in velvet hats and corsets. Jessica Proudman, who dressed us, says no one is immune. “We get corporate clients interested in dressing up — people from Glencore [the commodities giant], investment bankers, people in oil — more often than not it is the men who are dragged in against their will but end up staying here for ages trying on different hats. Some go for the codpieces, although many are scared.” Prices start at £120 for a consultation and rental.

Henry VIII was a powerful man — the look is not to be taken lightly. Wolf Hall costume designer Joanna Eatwell describes the outfits as walking furniture, and Proudman says costumes are made from upholstery fabric. No central heating meant velvet layers were essential and the corridors of power were wide enough for three-dimensional outfits. Whether or not you follow the example of the Tudors and dispense with underwear is up to you. Proudman says knickers were not necessary until the 1920s — when shorter hemlines came in. Continue reading Wolf Hall: Bring up the bodices … how Tudor costumes of Damian Lewis, Claire Foy and Mark Rylance measure up

The second episode of the BBC’s Wolf Hall was a dizzying spectacle, says Jasper Rees

5 stars

We’re now two hours in and, with a mass of plot to get through, Wolf Hall (BBC Two) is still in no hurry. Though adapted from a wordy source, it has a world of time for silence, for the pregnant spaces between speeches, in which everything and nothing is said.

It goes without saying that Mark Rylance is a master at withholding. In this second episode, both Boleyn girls – poor, pleading Mary (Charity Wakefield) and fearsome, frustrated Anne (Claire Foy) – looked into Thomas Cromwell’s green eyes and waited for the flicker of a response. Only the king got answers, and even he was told what Cromwell wanted him to hear. When the king’s dead brother Arthur visited him in a dream, Cromwell was summoned in the night to put a positive spin on the vision.

The relationship between Cromwell and Henry VIII has grown intimate. As Rylance hovered in the tall shadow of Damian Lewis, not presuming to look him in the eye, was anyone else reminded of The Fast Show’s vertical bromance between Charlie Higson’s diffident country gent and Paul Whitehouse’s wary yokel? Except that here Rylance is performing the seduction, and we’re caught in his web.

The only one with any sway over Cromwell is his sister-in-law Johane (Saskia Reeves). In their understated scenes he sits exposed. “There’s a conversation I shouldn’t have had,” he berated himself after inquiring about her marriage. Soon they were kissing, putting Cromwell in a good enough mood to share anecdotes from his years in Italy. No wonder his boisterous young entourage crowded around.

So far director Peter Kosminsky and scriptwriter Peter Straughan have arranged the narrative as, more or less, a series of conversational jousts. It’s like watching a chess grandmaster go around a room playing 20 challengers at once. The spectacle is dizzying, and the acting magnificent. By the end, as Cromwell was sworn into the Privy Council, the prospect loomed of taking God’s vengeance for Wolsey’s humiliation.

“There’s no need to trouble God,” he muttered. “I’ll take it in hand.” Be warned. In one beautiful tableau Johane snuffed out a roomful of candles. Next week, it won’t be her doing the snuffing.

Source

ACTORS may be known for masking their emotions well.

By Stephanie Takyi

However Wolf Hall star Claire Foy has revealed she found it hard not to get emotional while filming her character’s death scene.

The 30-year-old TV star plays the second wife of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, in the hit BBC2 drama alongside Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis as Henry VIII.

During an interview with Radio Times the pregnant actress admitted that the execution scene, in front of 200 extras, was a difficult experience.

“I had to have a bit of a word with myself, because I was feeling very emotional about the whole thing whereas Anne, by all accounts, really kept it all together,” she said. Continue reading Claire Foy admits she was left ’emotional’ over Anne Boleyn death scene in Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall becomes BBC2’s biggest drama in a decade after attracting 3.9 million

Wolf Hall won’t make its way to PBS’ Masterpiece until April 5, but it did kick off last night on BBC Two in the UK. The six-part adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning historical fiction novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, bowed to strong ratings and five-star reviews (see trailer below). The series charts the rise of Thomas Cromwell, played by Mark Rylance, from lowly blacksmith’s son to the closest adviser of Tudor king Henry VIII, who is embodied by Damian Lewis. Continue reading Wolf Hall becomes BBC2’s biggest drama in a decade after attracting 3.9 million

By Herts & Essex Observer

From sword-fighting lessons to wince-inducing corsets, every effort was made to ensure BBC Two’s upcoming Tudor epic Wolf Hall was as authentic as possible.

But actor Mark Rylance had one issue on the set of the six-part drama, adapted from Hilary Mantel’s Man Booker Prize-winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies.

“The codpieces are too small,” says the star, 54, who plays Henry VIII’s closest advisor Thomas Cromwell. “I think it was a directive from our American producers, PBS – they like small codpieces which always seemed to be tucked away.”

The Kent-born actor clarifies that he “wasn’t personally disappointed” by the accessory, worn in Tudor times at the front of men’s breeches and seen as a symbol of virility. Continue reading Interview with Damian Lewis, Claire Foy and Mark Rylance, stars of Wolf Hall

(L-R) Executive producer Rebecca Eaton, actors Damian Lewis, Mark Rylance, director Peter Kosminsky and executive producer Colin Callender with actress Claire Foy (via satellite) speak onstage during the ‘MASTERPIECE “Wolf Hall”’ panel discussion at the PBS Network portion of the Television Critics Association press tour at Langham Hotel on January 19, 2015 in Pasadena, California.

“If ever there was a masterpiece on ‘Masterpiece,’ this is it,” Rebecca Eaton, exec producer of PBS’ “Masterpiece,” said at Monday’s Television Critics Assn. panel for “Wolf Hall.” The six-part miniseries, based on Hilary Mantel’s book and its sequel “Bring Up the Bodies,” stars “Homeland’s” Damian Lewis, Mark Rylance and Claire Foy.

Lewis, whose character, Nicholas Brody, was killed off in Showtime’s hit, for which he won an Emmy, said King Henry VIII is a part he’s excited to tackle.

“My vanity will always relish a challenge,” Lewis said. “In fact, that probably encourages me.”

Assuring the room of reporters he’s not afraid to take on such a weighty role, Lewis said, “There’s a real opportunity to look differently at a period of history that is loved and well known.” He’s also excited to bring new light to the “syphilitic, philandering Elvis people think [King Henry VIII] is.”

“Henry, as a brand, is right up there with Coca Cola,” Lewis said. “In terms of brand recognition, you have to go look at other things, and I think we have.”

“Wolf Hall,” exec produced by Colin Callender and directed by Peter Kosminsky, debuts on PBS April 5. The drama runs through May 10.

Source: Variety

More from the PBS TCA Winter Press Tour:
Deadline – Damian Lewis Says Henry VIII As Big A Brand As Coca Cola