A Man for All Seasons

Sale & Altrincham Messenger's Review

Garrick does Bolt classic proud

By Rick Bowen

****

ALTRINCHAM Garrick's latest production should have 'made in Trafford' stamped all over it.

Written by Sale born Robert Bolt, A Man For All Seasons is an intriguing and inspiring piece about a man who lived and ultimately died for his principles.

The man in question was one Thomas More, a disarmingly decent person who had the courage to oppose King Henry VIII's plans to divorce in his quest for a son and heir.

While this seminal play doesn't fall into the light entertainment category - you must be prepared to listen hard - it isn't a dry history lesson either. Bolt succeeds in portraying the characters in a way that engages the audience and the scene in which More meets his family in his prison cell brings a lump to the throat.

David Reynolds is terrific as More and gives a truly mesmerising performance that makes you hang on his every word. On the other side of the coin we have Bill Platt who brings us some much needed light relief as The Common Man, a cynical and humorous commentator on the events that unfold around him.

Director Celia Bonner has made sure an ambitious play is accessible and enjoyable and Barry Purves's set, with its chequered floor, put me in mind of a giant board game. But for those involved in the 'game' the consequences are ultimately deadly.

Robert Bolt left us in 1995 but I think he would have been well pleased with the Garrick's staging of one of his most famous plays. Who knows, maybe he was watching. Nice thought, isn't it?