Sovereign is easily the best community production York Theatre Royal has produced since the 2012 Mystery play. It is perfectly set in Kings Manor, sumptuously costumed and brilliantly realised by Juliet Foster and her co directors: Mingyu Lin and John R. Wilkinson, and ably supported by Misha Duncan Barry.
By Angie Millard
Photos by Charlotte Graham
The C.J. Sansom historic novel ticks all the boxes the team required: relevance, inclusivity and the mystery of a little known narrative. But above all else it is a joyful experience. Mike Kenny has done an admirable job in the adaptation for the stage.
The Kings Manor quadrangle lends itself to staging the large open scenes of A Royal Progress and intimate secret scenes with shadows lurking in the corners. The narrative reflects the historic events of 1541. After the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII visits Northern England with his fifth wife Catherine Howard to subdue the reaction of the local populace, who had opposed his formation of The Church of England. Resentments simmer, plots abound and the Tudor Dynasty reacts with violent suppression. Into this perfect storm walks Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer from Lincoln’s Inn who has risen successfully through the ranks despite his physical disability. Fergus Rattigan plays this role with intensity, integrity and dogged refusal to be shaken from his mission by ignorant prejudice and mockery of his deformity. Sam Thorpe -Spinks accompanies him as his insouciant assistant and manages to introduce a romantic element by his entanglement with a maid of the court: Tamsin Reedbourne, played with a cheeky toughness by Livy Potter. Ratigan and Thorpe-Spinks introduced a natural quality to their scenes which were often plot progression and could have been tedious story telling.
The plot progresses and we see the expected amount of brutality, entitlement and deprivation but I want to focus on the community cast who inhabited this story. I was impressed by the movement of the chorus, by their engagement with every event and the variety of character they managed to produce. The Women of York began by acting in a Waggon play underlining the importance of the local culture which the Tudor reign had forbidden. Their words segued into Henry VIII standing in a similar posture on a wagon. Rosy Rowley led this chorus with clarity and the other ensembles of the court and town provided a varying texture to the piece. The city scenes included magnificent spectacle with the use of puppetry. There were two horses with a mask for their heads and actors beneath pawing the ground and trotting in unison. I was particularly impressed by the tail tossing and rearing. There were fighting cocks and a huge bear, all of which put me in mind of the wonderful animal parade entering the Ark in the 2016 Mystery Play. An audience loves puppets!
Striking cameo roles were played by Izzy Carrick as a cook, Stuart Green as a cheerful torturer, Simon O’Keefe as Brother Philips and Richard Hampton as a disdainful Jacob Rawlings with the power to order torture. More lengthy roles were played by Paul Mason as a comically nervous Mayor and Maurice Crighton as Maleverer, a nasty piece of work, (as the name suggests), while Matthew Page was utterly convincing as Giles Wrenne wracked with illness and principled conviction. In the female roles, Scarlett Rowley was a naïve young Queen, Emma Blackstone portrayed the vicious Lady Rochford and Katie Leckey played the subtly dangerous Jennet Marlin with excellent timing.
All these parts contributed to a very able cast with no weak links. I felt in safe hands throughout which is a plaudit for the whole piece.
The choir consisting of local volunteers and led by Madeleine Hudson provided superb musical accompaniment composed by Dominic Sales.
This is a remarkable Community project which must be a unique feature of the Theatre’s contribution to life in York.
Sovereign will be performed at Kings Manor Quadrangle until 30 July 2023.