The Mirror and the Light Tickets

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M Reviewed on 30 November 2021 by Mariya
London, United Kingdom

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I attended only because the play was chosen by the two people I was with. It is not a play I would choose to see on my own. Overall, it was an entertaining story, with particularly good acting by the lead Actor playing Thomas Cromwell: a demanding and exhausting role. I found the Duke of Norfolk particularly entertaining. The costumes, lighting and music were of a high standard. The death of Jane Seymour was especially moving, with some beautiful music. The choreography was very good, and I enjoyed the dancing. I would have preferred a Shakespeare or Marlowe history play, with greater complexity of character, but that is a personal choice, and although "The Mirror and Light" was not my preferred type of play, I recognise that it was a very good performance in many ways. I did feel that theatre staff were, unintentionally, appearing to shout and ordering us into a queue outside the theatre in particularly cold weather, but appreciate that they had a difficult job ensuring that people entered the theatre safely. Perhaps a megaphone or some other system for communication could be used. Inside the theatre, we were made to feel very welcome by staff in the theatre and in the bar. Thank you to everyone concerned.

R Reviewed on 29 November 2021 by Richard
Leicester, United Kingdom

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Simply superb - the final instalment of Mantel's extraordinary saga of Thomas Cromwell - it's really impossible to ever fault the RSC and they were really on excellent form. A superb, enthralling play - looking forward (I hope) to this appearing on the BBC in future so those unable to have caught the performance can see it recreated as happened with the earlier production of Wolf Hall - which I also saw! A*****

M Reviewed on 29 November 2021 by Margaret
London, United Kingdom

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Have enjoyed the trilogy The acting was superb The cast amazing

S Reviewed on 28 November 2021 by Sandra
London, United Kingdom

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C Reviewed on 26 November 2021 by Chris
Bournemouth, United Kingdom

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Ben Miles and Nathanial Parker were outstanding. Some of the actors in small roles were pretty wooden but overall we enjoyed it a lot. The music and lighting were excellent.

M Reviewed on 25 November 2021 by Margaret
London, United Kingdom

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Familiar and new faces equally rose to the occasion. Excellent acting. Casting superb. Many characters just as you had imagined them. A welcome resistance to creating stereotypes (particularly Henry V111). Not a play for those unfamiliar with the trilogy and or the historical period. One had a sense the audience was sharing an experience with people with whom they were very familiar which name for a very satisfying overall experience.

S Reviewed on 25 November 2021 by Shirley
Leicester, United Kingdom

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Familiar and new faces equally rose to the occasion. Excellent acting. Casting superb. Many characters just as you had imagined them. A welcome resistance to creating stereotypes (particularly Henry V111). Not a play for those unfamiliar with the trilogy and or the historical period. One had a sense the audience was sharing an experience with people with whom they were very familiar which name for a very satisfying overall experience.

S Reviewed on 25 November 2021 by Shirley
Leicester, United Kingdom

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Familiar and new faces equally rose to the occasion. Excellent acting. Casting superb. Many characters just as you had imagined them. A welcome resistance to creating stereotypes (particularly Henry V111). Not a play for those unfamiliar with the trilogy and or the historical period. One had a sense the audience was sharing an experience with people with whom they were very familiar which name for a very satisfying overall experience.

S Reviewed on 25 November 2021 by Shirley
Leicester, United Kingdom

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…for Cromwell…and to see the show? This should extend!

P Reviewed on 25 November 2021 by Pennie
Hassocks, United Kingdom

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R Reviewed on 24 November 2021 by Robert
Rozelle, Australia

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Really powerful performance. I wasn’t sure how the book would work on stage but it was very cleverly done, bringing out the main themes.

C Reviewed on 21 November 2021 by Catherine
Twickenham, United Kingdom

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L Reviewed on 21 November 2021 by Lynne
Guildford, United Kingdom

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Power politics at the court of HenryVIII. Advise you read H Mantel’s trilogy as its a must of historical fiction. The play is a distilled version of the third book. Brilliantly staged and played.

H Reviewed on 21 November 2021 by Helena
Kingston Upon Thames, United Kingdom

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C Reviewed on 19 November 2021 by Charlotte
Watford, United Kingdom

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Play was excellent - Disappointed that there was not more effort to encourage mask wearing.

R Reviewed on 19 November 2021 by Ruth
Leighton Buzzard Library, United Kingdom

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A Reviewed on 18 November 2021 by Averill
Barnet, United Kingdom

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It’s a wonderful production. Go whilst you have the chance!!!

S Reviewed on 17 November 2021 by Stuart
London, United Kingdom

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Amazing acting, singing was a complete surprise and very atmospheric. Told the story from a less traditional angle which relates to present day rise and fall of those at the top....I loved it

K Reviewed on 14 November 2021 by Katy
Warwick, United Kingdom

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Excellent

H Reviewed on 14 November 2021 by Hilary
Chelmsford, United Kingdom

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Excellent play and acting. Faithful to the spirit of the novel - real touches of authenticity. Parallels to modern times!

S Reviewed on 14 November 2021 by Sally
London, United Kingdom

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I liked the show, it was well acted, fast paced and interesting. I had already seen the previous two plays in this series of adaptations of the Hilary Mantel books about the life of Oliver Cromwell and I think that helped in my understanding of the plot. If you have not read the books or seen the previous plays it would be a good idea to read up on the life of Thomas Cromwell and King Henry VIII as this would help you understand and enjoy the play.

K Reviewed on 14 November 2021 by Kate
Harrow, United Kingdom

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Well paced and a great historical story

S Reviewed on 11 November 2021 by Steve
St Peter Port, Guernsey

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Compared to Wolf Hall and Bring up the bodies,I found The Mirror and the Light harder to read. The pace of the play is much better. I loved The actors and the costumes. Time just flew by

V Reviewed on 11 November 2021 by Veerle
Lier, Belgium

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Superb production of The Mirror and the Light, based on the last book in the Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel. The language is modern and even if you aren’t familiar with the first 2 books/plays, the characters all call each other by name, and so you will soon pick up who they all are. There’s also some good humour in the play, it isn’t all doom and gloom. I guess you would probably get more from it if you are broadly familiar with your Tudor history, but it’s a superb play, well acted by a very strong cast, fabulous costumes, and the two leads played by Ben Miles and Nathaniel Parker are absolutely amazing.

J Reviewed on 10 November 2021 by Judy
Winchester, United Kingdom

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Classical and traditional

M Reviewed on 10 November 2021 by Margarita
London, United Kingdom

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Though it can be hard sometimes to understand all the lines when you are a foreigner I must say that I did enjoy the play for its scenery, the story it tells and above all the exceptional performance the team on stage gave us tonight

C Reviewed on 09 November 2021 by Christophe
Paris, France

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This is so beautifully told with not a word or gesture wasted . The set was simple but amazingly versatile and the performances engaging. I loved it and wept for Cromwell. Recommended.

S Reviewed on 09 November 2021 by Sebastian
New Quay, United Kingdom

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This completed the trilogy of plays. It was coherent and easily followed. It came to a well staged climax

J Reviewed on 08 November 2021 by Jocelyn
Bromley, United Kingdom

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Although the opening scene of the play was not a good introduction to the play, the viewer eventually was introduced to the court of Henry VIII with his daughter, Mary and his wife, Jane along with all the members of Henry's council and the politics within. There were the occasional delightful scenes of Tudor dancing and singing to add variety to the production along with the wonderful period costumes. The main character, Thomas Cromwell did not come across as a bad guy as is often the case, but I put this down to the script. Not sure if Hilary Mantel's novel portrays him as this less cunning character. Perhaps it is the director who is at fault here as the scene where he is stripped of his status should have been powerful, yet it was not.

C Reviewed on 08 November 2021 by Christopher
Bromley, United Kingdom

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An excellent piece of historical drama, well performed and visually stunning, with some memorable touches of humour.

J Reviewed on 07 November 2021 by Jeremy
Pinner, United Kingdom

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Booked this as our first post-lockdown theatre trip and glad we went as the run is ending soon now. Plenty of space, everyone was sensible. Good show, wish we'd seen parts I & II.

T Reviewed on 01 November 2021 by Toby
Tenterden, United Kingdom

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A Reviewed on 01 November 2021 by Alan
Bushey Heath, United Kingdom

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Boring

N Reviewed on 29 October 2021 by Natalja
London, United Kingdom

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It was a whole experience, from acting to the dancing and singing. I didn't read before anything connected to the story but I understood everything and I enjoyed it so much. I would recommend it to any theatre lovers, it's a whole experience :)

A Reviewed on 29 October 2021 by Ana-maria
London, United Kingdom

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I couldn’t see it Thank to the ridiculous uk rules, according to which if you have had covid and one dose of vaccine you are not vaccinated. I couldn’t enter the il without confinement.

P Reviewed on 26 October 2021 by Pierre
Saint-sulpice, Switzerland

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I really enjoyed the show today, I went with my mother. It was easy to follow having not read the books myself or having seen the first 2 books as plays. The acting was great

M Reviewed on 24 October 2021 by Michelle
Eastbourne, United Kingdom

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Great story with excellent performance from all the cast! Takes you into the very heart of political intrigues, ambition and manipulation! Same, same today but a little different! Although a long play, the story, interpretation and excellence of actors performance was so engaging -time literally flew byway thanks to all involved !

M Reviewed on 24 October 2021 by Marlene
Rossens, Switzerland

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Great standard maintained.

S Reviewed on 24 October 2021 by Sue
Hatfield Peverel, Chelmsford, United Kingdom

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This is a show based on the third installment of the Wolf Hall series. If you have no prior knowledge of the story then you may struggle with the context around it. However, if you are aware of this story it is a must see. The story is excellent, the casting is on point and the acting is superb. My wife and I had no prior knowledge of this show and booked tickets whilst in London. It was the highlight of our trip.

D Reviewed on 24 October 2021 by Dale
Canterbury, United Kingdom

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I loved the starkness of the set which drew attention to the adroit acting, rich script and beautiful costumes. Helps to know a little history of the run up to this point but not necessary. Powerful, political machinations at its best!

L Reviewed on 24 October 2021 by Lisa
Uckfield, United Kingdom

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Superb characters and great twisting plot that has the right touch of real life history. I was looking for a play that would pull me in and balance out a modern view with traditional stage craft. The whole production came together and it flys.

L Reviewed on 07 October 2021 by Leslie
Toronto, Canada

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I just finished the book yesterday, and lots of the dialogue was just lifted from the pages ;good thing). You don’t need to have read the 3 books to know what’s going on but it probably does give you a better understanding. Acting was so superb & the theatre had aircon . Really recommend

T Reviewed on 03 October 2021 by Tina
Clapham, United Kingdom

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A great story well told. The stark sage setting enhanced the brilliant acting.

D Reviewed on 28 September 2021 by Diane
Gillingham, United Kingdom

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RSC does it right

D Reviewed on 25 September 2021 by Donald
Sarasota, United States Of America

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No time to develop the characters. With some exceptions, the acting was wooden. Overall we felt it did not do justice to this great story. This was the first night so hopefully it will get better!!

F Reviewed on 24 September 2021 by Frances
Notts, United Kingdom