I can’t think of many productions that I have been to where the setting of the show has been quite so impressive and relevant to the show and whilst others may have tried seeing Anne Boleyn, a new musical, performed at Hever Castle has to top that list. The show follows Anne’s life from her being sent away to France to further herself through to her execution and focuses on the difficulties that Anne faced in being an educated women trying to make a difference in a man’s world.

There is no escaping it, the star of the show is the setting. With Hever Castle itself and its sprawling lawns as the backdrop to the show it makes for a very special and atmospheric evening. The audience seem as if they are buzzing to simply be there and the production makes the most out of its beautiful setting. Come nightfall Hever Castle is lit up beautifully at appropriate moments in the show but the grounds are also made use of during the show with horses and maypoles alike.

The staging of Anne Boleyn is kept simple ensuring that the backdrop of the castle remains the focal point. Set design by Robert Innes-Hopkins utilises 2 platforms that flank the sides of the stage that means levels can be created for some added interest. The set works beautifully in tandem with the lighting design by Michael Jacob who is not only tasked with lighting the stage appropriately at relevant times but the vast laws and castle itself, all to wonderful effect. The costumes are lavish and also really helped show the passing of time from Katherine to Anne and onto her daughter Elizabeth. There were a few moments where attention to detail could have been enhanced, the use of gold fans which wouldn’t have looked out of place in a drag show or balloons which weren’t even invented until 1824 pulled me out of the Tudor setting but these were minor concerns as everything else visually seemed so spot on.

The production itself heavily relies on the setting however, whilst the book is perfectly pleasant and enjoyable, unlike Anne herself, is not one for the history books. Throughout the show there is little chance for any tension to build as relationships are built and destroyed in a matter of moments within a scene and whilst the book by Rebecca Night does its best to draw out themes that are relevant today they lose their importance as the second act draws on. That being said there is a lot to get through in the show and the show never drags and despite its running time being on the longer side my interest never waned.

The music by Sam Gevers excels in some areas, in particular Anne’s solo numbers such as ‘Home’ and ‘You’ as well as the rousing ‘ We Are Queens delivered by Queen Katherine, her daughter Princess Mary and their ladies in waiting and these are numbers I would love to have on my Spotify however some ensemble numbers felt unnecessary such as ‘Ha Ha Ha’ with clunky lyrics such as H and A hooray hooray repeated a few too many times.

The cast were excellent across the board, in particular Emily Lane as the title character. She presented as a fiery yet sympathetic character who easily convinced as a woman Henry would leave the church for. Her vocals sound sublime, piped directly into our ears with the headphone system used in this production. Mark Goldthorp played Henry and once again was a delight to watch, flirtatious with Anne but later his mood switching to a man to feared rather than flirted with.

The community cast of over 35 for each performance were also a delight to watch, adding real character to the show they played everything from servants and ladies in Waiting to members of the Tudor court and helped such a vast stage feel alive with energy.

Anne Boleyn is a show which, quite rightly, leans in the spectacle of the setting and as a result does provide a memorable evening, whilst the songs and the show itself may not be the strongest the evening itself will be one I won’t forget in a hurry.

Anne Boleyn is running until 30th August. You can find out more and book tickets here.

If you like this review you might also like my review of Six, The Daughter of Time and Just For One Day.