In a theatrical landscape often filled with reinterpretations and effects, A Man for All Seasons is a shining reminder of what drama, at its finest, can achieve; when the director has faith in the material speaking for itself. This production, led by the incomparable Martin Shaw in a tour de force performance, is nothing short of breathtaking — an intellectual and emotional triumph that lingers long after the final words.
Robert Bolt’s incredible play about Sir Thomas More’s moral stand against Henry VIII’s divorce is so rich in language it’s almost poetry, with its discourse in logic and legal reasoning but also brim full of emotion. Combining these elements takes such precision in balance and in lesser hands it might falter, but here it soars. The dialogue is delivered with such clarity and passion, crackling with logic, legal weight, and human feeling. Rarely does a play so seamlessly fuse politics, religion and philosophy with such gorgeous intensity.
Martin Shaw delivers a performance of extraordinary power and humanity. On stage for the vast majority of the production, he commands the whole stage with authority yet quiet gentleness. His More is not only principled and brilliant but deeply humane and kind: his inability to be bribed, persuaded or threatened but instead to stand strong in his principles and beliefs is awe inspiring. He knows that his refusal to be owned by the King will leave him in jeopardy, but he stands by doing the right thing: standing as the very definition of integrity. The silence in the theatre during the climactic courtroom scene is palpable.
The entire cast rises to the level Shaw sets: each of them could be singled out as standout performances in their own right. These include Calum Finlay as the snake Richard Rich who you nevertheless feel sorry for at different points while on his own emotional journey; and Abigail Cruttenden as wife Alice More whose anger at times belies the desperation, fear and love for her husband, through angry and fearful streaming tears. What’s fascinating to watch are the different power dynamics between them all that shift and change throughout the play, and that More’s quiet personal power is so threatening to all those concerned that they pursue him with vigour, disdain and disgust.
Gary Wilmot’s warm presence as the common man, multi rolling, and often in direct address to the audience, is an interesting a device that maintains the fluidity of the transitions through the play as he moves furniture and dons costume: a device that shouldn’t work within such material but actually does. It’s so cleverly done it keeps the pace flowing between scenes and times so momentum is never lost, despite the rich language and the intensity of the scenes. Visually, the production is stunning. The lighting and shadows, the architecture of the set including the moving parts and smoking fire, the costuming — all conspire to immerse us in Tudor England without ever distracting from the drama.
What makes this play so devastating is its truth. These are not imagined characters, but people who lived and fought for what they believed, and sometimes paid the ultimate price, and in More’s case were being put on trial not for their actions, but their thoughts. “I must rule myself” says More, maintaining the human right to own our own thoughts and beliefs, something that deeply resonates to us through time. This is the very definition of integrity: about one man who does the right thing by his own conscience according to his faith and belief in law.
This is quite simply a flawless production of the highest possible standard in every respect: so much that you can sit and just bask in the beauty of it. It sets its own bar for theatre that is not only beautifully envisioned and executed but provocative and current in subject matter. To see this level of production reminds us all of why we go to the theatre in the first place. This is a must see.
Theatre Royal Brighton, 22 July 2025
A Man For All Seasons runs until 26 July 2025
Photos credit: Simon Annand
