Wolf Hall Parts 1 and 2 NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (55)
See it if you love Masterpiece Theater. WH has a majesty, but it wasn't engrossing. Prior historical knowledge was necessary, given the large cast.
Don't see it if you demand great performances. BMiles was disappointing as Cromwell. Direction was stiff. The six hour investment didn't yield the payoff. Read more
See it if you love Tudor history. Great, accurate costumes. Fabulous English actors. Some great directing/staging choices for a spare set.
Don't see it if Part II is definitely weaker. Ambitious, but too much story crammed in. Cradle dance!?!
See it if You like period pieces, great acting, great writing. Liked it more than I thought I would.
Don't see it if Don't like period pieces, have trouble understanding accents, hate poofy dresses.
See it if the thought of who gets to define religion and why is fascinating to you (Part 1 in particular).
Don't see it if 5 hours of a play is overwhelming to you.
See it if you enjoy the Tutor period and masterful acting
Don't see it if you want a modern play; both parts on one day is a lot for anyone
See it if you're a Britphile, like the more boring offerings of Masterpiece Theatre, have 6 hours to kill, or have a massive crush on Nathaniel Parker
Don't see it if any of the above doesn't describe you.
See it if you like history, intrigue and disaster.
Don't see it if you find historical drama boring.
See it if you like binge-watching Masterpiece Theater.
Don't see it if you want epic passion, insight, and theatricality at a 5 hour show.
Critic Reviews (61)
"There's a rip-roaring, malevolently Machiavellian, viciously nasty, blood-letting saga of intrigue and incest on view just now. The cornucopian epic can be found at Broadway's Winter Garden, where the Royal Shakespeare Company's impressively adventurous production of Hilary Mantel's 'Wolf Hall' has set up shop...The RSC 'Wolf Hall' offers an evening--or, rather, two evenings--of live, inventively rousing theatricality."
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"This prestige event of the Broadway season offers straightforward storytelling, finely wrought performances and yards upon yards of magnificent 16th century costumes... Despite the feral titles, the plays offer more steady elegance than wild passion...It is hard not to wish for something deeper from all those hours onstage."
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"The story is vividly, precisely and – particularly in the first part – briskly told, with bursts of unexpected humor...Working with a large, opulently costumed cast, director Jeremy Herrin has superbly theatricalized the storytelling, blending one scene rapidly into the next. You might know where the journey's headed, but the trip is engrossing."
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"The Royal Shakespeare Company's stunning, addictive and clever adaptation. After six hours of "Part One" and "Part Two," there were impatient people leaving the Winter Garden Theatre waiting for "Part Three."...Adapted by Mike Poulton, the two parts are connected by modern English, gallows humor, ghosts who chat with the living and by everyone complaining about the rain. One part alone stands by itself but this adaptation is like a bag of chips. Can you stop with just one?"
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"Particularly fresh in this adaptation are most of the characters, seen from Cromwell”s perspective...If you are a fan, you will enjoy the chats about England’s history taking place in and around the theater. If you aren’t up on the history of this period, you might become very confused."
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"Although the two shows are historically accurate and director Jeremy Herrin keeps the action moving fluidly, we leave the theater expecting more from the Royal Shakespeare Company... Unfortunately, as ambitious as 'Wolf Hall' is because it is such an epic, and despite its accessibility, it is ultimately mediocre... Some fans of the travails of the British monarchy from past to present may feel they have learned nothing new after sitting through this entertaining but curiously unsatisfying marathon."
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"At its best, this version carries you along like the trashiest soap...Thank goodness that 'Wolf Hall' sustains that suspenseful, brisk pace for much of its long running time. Those moments when the pace slackens are truly dangerous, as one may be lulled into an exhausted sleep...The material seems more suited to the kind of context that long-form television is much better at providing. So, recommended, but by no means essential theater-going."
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"So much must be explained that the play can feel too close to a timeline, with much of its first act spent dealing with exposition...'Part Two: Bring Up the Bodies' is far more successful in portraying the political intrigue and its multifaceted characters."
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