The Tudor period of English history has proved fertile ground for adaptation, from the novels of Hilary Mantel to the international success of the musical SIX. Now, two Queens have their moment in a new musical, Bloody Mary and the Nine Day Queen by Gareth Hides with Anna Unwin.
If you know your Royal lineage you will remember that Henry VIII had three children from his first three marriages: Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward. Edward VI became king at the age of 9, dying when he was just 15 of tuberculosis. His will disinherited his sisters from the line of succession, instead preferring Lady Jane Grey, the great-niece of Henry through his sister Mary.
Just 17, Jane is rushed into marriage while the ailing Edward (depicted here as a puppet) is manipulated by his advisor the Duke of Northumberland. Her husband is young Northumberland, Guildford Dudley, a year older and dazzled by the promise of riches and power. Her father, Henry Grey, offers Jane as a symbol of the Reformation against staunchly Catholic ‘Bloody’ Mary.
A five-person cast, including Anna Unwin as Jane and Gareth Hides as Henry Grey/John Feckenham) tackles a show that has some definite high points but treads an uneasy line between serious history and comic interludes. Making Northumberland (Constantine Andronikou, whose vocals are excellent) a clownish figure is a curious choice, causing us to laugh but removing us from the tragic tale of a girl forced into the position as Queen.
Cezarah Bonner (Mary) is an operatic diva who also conveys the disappointment of being overlooked, again, as happened so many times in her life. A (comic) interlude with her intended, King Philip of Spain shows her naivety but doesn’t quite work with it ‘Que?’ stereotype and segue into rock bombast. Unwin’s Jane is in contrast serious and contemplative, her cautious interest in her new husband (Johnnie Benson) giving way to a maternal sensibility.
Benson’s flippancy is overshadowed by Hides’s empathetic priest and cowardly father, both given deep and thoughtful characterisations. The set design (by Ella Burrell) highlights the ever-present block where traitors lose their heads (in a red wash of light), allows Mary to turn up her charismatic turn in tandem with the musical director, and offers a pointed comment on why Mary is known by the ‘Bloody’ nickname by revealing the names of those she put to death.
Lyrically, from what I could hear (words are occasionally lost, particularly in act one), there are some interesting rhymes and ideas. A dream sequence for Mary echoes a specific popular culture reference that will age as time progresses, while a death scene for Edward has echoes of the music hall with its ‘Smile!’ prompts. A song about the lack of justice in the Tudor court underlines the period’s brutality, while another helps us see Jane as a devoted woman of faith.
Directed by Adam Stone, with a three-piece band (MD/piano, David Gibson; drums, Migdalla Van Der Hoven; violin, Yvonne Yo), Bloody Mary and the Nine Day Queen offers a glimpse into a moment in history where religion was the cause of significant bloodshed in England. The final moment of Jane’s death is clearly inspired by Paul Delaroche’s painting The Execution of Lady Jane Grey (1833). a dramatic depiction of the blindfolded young woman fumbling for the block.
By showing Jane and Guildford as young people not quite in control of what they have been told to do, and offering a counterpoint of Mary as someone hell bent on revenge against those who have scorned her and ‘the old-time religion’. Hides and Unwin have developed a show that is musically memorable but occasionally muddling the story of “the girl who would be King.”
I’m giving this 3.5 stars.
Bloody Mary and the Nine Day Queen continues at the Union Theatre until 29 Oct with tickets here.
Image credit: Colin Perkins