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Bloody Mary and the Nine Day Queen
Union Theatre, London
Producer: Handiwork Productions
Writer: Gareth Hides with Anna Unwin
Director: Adam Stone
Musical director: David Gibson
Cast: Cezarah Bonner, Anna Unwin, Constantine Andronikou, Johnnie Benson, Gareth Hides
Dates of run: October 21-29
Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes, including interval.
Five centuries after King Henry VIII instigated the English Reformation, the press excitement around King Charles III’s decision to pray with the Pope is proof, were any needed, that some popular fascinations never die.
It’s a rich vein that even the international hit musical “SIX” based on Henry’s wives, has not exhausted.
Creators Gareth Hides and Anna Unwin, both of whom also perform, have taken on the relatively underexplored Tudor story of Henry VIII’s daughter Mary, his only surviving child by his first wife. She earned the name of Bloody Mary from her persecution of Protestants, including ordering the execution of her 17-year-old cousin Lady Jane Grey after snatching the crown from her.
Also known as the “Nine-day Queen” in a reference to the length of her reign, Jane was a pawn in the hands of scheming dukes and of Mary. She was also highly educated, devoutly Protestant and worthy subject-matter for a charming and emotional musical that manages to leaven tragedy with humour and hope.
Its world premiere is staged at the Union Theatre, which has a long tradition of delivering small-scale musicals with at least as much and often more appeal than the big budget, West End lavish variety.
Skilfully directed by Adam Stone, the five stage performers are supported by a flawless, three-strong band of musicians and a puppet.
Aptly, the puppet is King Edward VI and the rest of the casting is equally well-judged.
Dark-haired, dark-eyed and fiercely energetic, Cezarah Bonner bears little resemblance to the historical Mary Tudor, who, we’re told, inherited her father’s red-gold hair, but she is the perfect foil to Anna Unwin’s blond, blue-eyed innocent Jane, who in turn is well-matched with Johnnie Benson as Guildford Dudley.
Initially, he is her husband for purely political reasons. More interested in the frivolous trappings of monarchy, he appears to have nothing in common with his Plato-reading, highly serious wife. Adversity, however, is a bond and they convincingly grow together, culminating in an harmonious duet before their dignified martyrs’ deaths.
The love duet is one of the many classic ingredients smuggled in. In a nod to the need for a dance if this is to be a proper musical, we also have an hilarious tango between Constantine Andronikou as a larger-than-life Northumberland and the petite Mary.
The lyrics are another source of light relief, with calls to “bring back purgatory” and “take your arsenic and smile”.
While this production wears its historical knowledge and its faith lightly, the other cause for optimism, depending on your viewpoint, is religious conviction.
The flow of sympathy in the production is away from Mary and towards Jane. Meanwhile the production’s main writer Gareth Hides, who takes on the roles of Jane’s father Henry Grey and of John Feckenham, a rare moderate Catholic leader during deeply divided times, is a Gospel singer-songwriter when he isn’t creating musicals.
Bloody Mary and the Nine Day Queen
Union Theatre, London
Producer: Handiwork Productions
Writer: Gareth Hides with Anna Unwin
Director: Adam Stone
Musical director: David Gibson
Cast: Cezarah Bonner, Anna Unwin, Constantine Andronikou, Johnnie Benson, Gareth Hides
Dates of run: October 21-29
Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes, including interval.
Five centuries after King Henry VIII instigated the English Reformation, the press excitement around King Charles III’s decision to pray with the Pope is proof, were any needed, that some popular fascinations never die.
It’s a rich vein that even the international hit musical “SIX” based on Henry’s wives, has not exhausted.
Creators Gareth Hides and Anna Unwin, both of whom also perform, have taken on the relatively underexplored Tudor story of Henry VIII’s daughter Mary, his only surviving child by his first wife. She earned the name of Bloody Mary from her persecution of Protestants, including ordering the execution of her 17-year-old cousin Lady Jane Grey after snatching the crown from her.
Also known as the “Nine-day Queen” in a reference to the length of her reign, Jane was a pawn in the hands of scheming dukes and of Mary. She was also highly educated, devoutly Protestant and worthy subject-matter for a charming and emotional musical that manages to leaven tragedy with humour and hope.
Its world premiere is staged at the Union Theatre, which has a long tradition of delivering small-scale musicals with at least as much and often more appeal than the big budget, West End lavish variety.
Skilfully directed by Adam Stone, the five stage performers are supported by a flawless, three-strong band of musicians and a puppet.
Aptly, the puppet is King Edward VI and the rest of the casting is equally well-judged.
Dark-haired, dark-eyed and fiercely energetic, Cezarah Bonner bears little resemblance to the historical Mary Tudor, who, we’re told, inherited her father’s red-gold hair, but she is the perfect foil to Anna Unwin’s blond, blue-eyed innocent Jane, who in turn is well-matched with Johnnie Benson as Guildford Dudley.
Initially, he is her husband for purely political reasons. More interested in the frivolous trappings of monarchy, he appears to have nothing in common with his Plato-reading, highly serious wife. Adversity, however, is a bond and they convincingly grow together, culminating in an harmonious duet before their dignified martyrs’ deaths.
The love duet is one of the many classic ingredients smuggled in. In a nod to the need for a dance if this is to be a proper musical, we also have an hilarious tango between Constantine Andronikou as a larger-than-life Northumberland and the petite Mary.
The lyrics are another source of light relief, with calls to “bring back purgatory” and “take your arsenic and smile”.
While this production wears its historical knowledge and its faith lightly, the other cause for optimism, depending on your viewpoint, is religious conviction.
The flow of sympathy in the production is away from Mary and towards Jane. Meanwhile the production’s main writer Gareth Hides, who takes on the roles of Jane’s father Henry Grey and of John Feckenham, a rare moderate Catholic leader during deeply divided times, is a Gospel singer-songwriter when he isn’t creating musicals.
Barbara Lewis © 2025.
By Barbara Lewis • added recently on London Grip, plays, theatre • Tags: Barbara Lewis, plays, theatre