A Man for All Seasons (play)

A Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt based on the life of Sir Thomas More. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced in 1957 by the BBC,"A Man for All Seasons Listing" InternetMovieDatabase, accessed 23 August 2011 but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.

It was first performed in London opening at the Globe Theatre (now Gielgud Theatre) on 1 July 1960. It later found its way to Broadway, enjoying a critically and commercially successful run of over a year. It has had several revivals, and was subsequently made into a multi-Academy Award-winning 1966 feature film and a 1988 television movie.

The plot is based on the historical events leading up to the execution of More, the 16th-century Lord Chancellor of England, who refused to endorse Henry VIII's wish to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, who did not bear him a surviving son, so that he could marry Anne Boleyn.

The play portrays More as a man of principle, envied by rivals such as Thomas Cromwell, but loved by the common people and by his family.

Title The title reflects 20th-century agnostic playwright Robert Bolt's portrayal of More as the ultimate man of conscience. As one who remains true to himself and his beliefs while adapting to all circumstances and times, despite external pressure or influence, More represents "a man for all seasons". Bolt borrowed the title from Robert Whittington, a contemporary of More's, who in 1520 wrote of him:

More is a man of an angel's wit and singular learning. I know not his fellow. For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness and affability? And, as time requireth, a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes, and sometime of as sad gravity. A man for all seasons.

Themes

A Man for All Seasons struggles with ideas of identity and conscience. More argues repeatedly that a person is defined by his conscience. His own position is depicted as almost indefensible; even the Pope, who More defends as the rightful head of the Church, is described as a corrupt individual and a puppet of Emperor Charles V. But as More says to the Duke of Norfolk, "What matters is not that it's true, but that I believe it; or no, not that I believe it, but that I believe it." More fears that if he breaks with his conscience, he will be damned to hell; in comparison, his associates and friends are shown to be only concerned with holding onto their own temporal power.

At another key point of the play, More is summoned before an inquiry convened by Cromwell. Norfolk, knowing that Cromwell is fishing for an excuse to have More charged with treason, appeals to their friendship to try and persuade him to sign the Succession to the Crown Act 1534 (pp. 78, Heinemann edition):

Norfolk: Oh, confound all this. ... I'm not a scholar, as Master Cromwell never tires of pointing out, and frankly, I don't know whether the marriage was lawful or not. But damn it, Thomas, look at those names. ... You know those men! Can't you do what I did, and come with us, for fellowship?

More: And when we stand before God, and you are sent to Paradise for doing according to your conscience, and I am damned for not doing according to mine, will you come with me – for "fellowship"?

More's persecution is made to seem even more unjust by the inclusion of Eustace Chapuys, the long-time Imperial ambassador to England, in the story. Chapuys recognizes More as a stout man of the church, and in Act II, after More's resignation from the Chancellorship, he informs More of a planned Catholic rebellion along the Scottish border. More chooses to inform Norfolk of the plot, showing him to be patriotic and loyal to the King. This, along with More's refusal to speak out against the King, shows him to be a loyal subject, and thus Cromwell appears to prosecute him not out of any legal obligation, but rather spite and ambition.

Bolt also establishes an anti-authoritarian theme which recurs throughout his works. All people in positions of power – King Henry, Cromwell, Wolsey, Cranmer, Chapuys, even Norfolk – are depicted as being either corrupt, evil, or at best expedient and power-hungry. Bolt's later plays and film screenplays also delve into this theme. The theme of corruption is also illustrated, in Rich's rise to power, the Common Man being drawn into the events of the storyline, and in the (deliberately) anachronistic portrayal of Henry as a younger, athletic man (in 1530 he would have been almost forty and already putting on weight).

Although it is the law that eventually forces More's execution, the play also makes several powerful statements in support of the rule of law. At one point More's future son-in-law, William Roper, urges him to arrest Richard Rich, whose perjury will eventually lead to More's execution. More answers that Rich has broken no law, "And go he should if he were the Devil himself until he broke the law!" Roper is appalled at the idea of granting the Devil the benefit of law, but More is adamant.

"What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? ... And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you – where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's, and if you cut them down – and you're just the man to do it – do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!"

The character of the Common Man serves as a narrator and framing device. A Brechtian character, he plays various small parts – More's servant, a publican, a boatman, More's jailer, jury foreman and executioner – who appear throughout the play, both taking part in and commenting on the action. Several sequences involving this character break the fourth wall – most notably, a sequence where the Common Man attempts to exit the stage and is addressed by Cromwell, who identifies him as a jury foreman. (Indeed, the "jury" consists of sticks or poles with the hats of the Common Man's various characters put on top.) The place of the Common Man in history is emphasized when he says in his opening speech,

"the sixteenth century was the century of the Common Man – like all the other centuries."

Bolt created the Common Man for two main reasons: to illustrate the place and influence of the average person in history, even though they are usually overlooked, and to try to prevent the audience from sympathising with the more titled characters such as More, realising that the audience is more closely related to him – a classic case of Brechtian alienation. The character's role in the story has been interpreted in many different ways by different critics, from being a positive to a negative character. Bolt's own view (expressed in the preface to the play) was that he was intended to draw the audience into the play and that "common" denoted "that which is common to us all." Several of Bolt's subsequent works feature similar characters (e.g. The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew, State of Revolution).

Endings

Two different endings were written by Bolt. The original ending, performed during the show's preliminary run in England, had Cromwell and Chapuys confront each other after More's execution and then exit the stage, hand in hand, chuckling with "the self-mocking, self-indulgent, rather rueful laughter of the men who know what the world is and how to be comfortable in it". This particular ending is exemplary of Bolt's notion of "riding with the current", forsaking one's conscience in exchange of a life of "convenience".

For the show's London production – and most, if not all, subsequent runs of the show – the Common Man sheds his executioner's garb and addresses the audience one final time:

... It isn't difficult to keep alive, friends – just don't make trouble – or if you must make trouble, make the sort of trouble that's expected... If we should bump into one another, recognize me.

The film version of the play ends with More's execution, followed by a narrator reading off the fates of the various characters involved (originally, this was dialogue spoken by the Common Man prior to the Tower of London Inquiry).

Cast and characters Notable casts Character West End debut (1961) Broadway debut (1961) Broadway revival (2008) Sir Thomas More Paul Scofield Frank Langella Richard RichJohn Brown William RedfieldJeremy StrongThe Common Man Leo McKernGeorge RoseN/A Duke of Norfolk Alexander GaugeAlbert DekkerMichael GillAlice MoreWynne ClarkCarol GoodnerMaryann PlunkettMargaretPat KeenOlga BellinHannah CabellCardinal Wolsey Willoughby GoddardJack CreleyDakin MatthewsThomas Cromwell Andrew KeirLeo McKern Zack GrenierHenry VIII Richard Leech Keith Baxter Patrick Page Archbishop Cranmer William Roderick Lester Rawlins George MorfogenChapuys Geoffrey Dunn David J. Stewart Triney SandovalWill Roper Peter Brandon John Carson Michael EsperAttendant Brian HarrisonJohn Colenback Curt Bouril Woman Beryl AndrewsSarah BurtonEmily Dorsch

Stage productions West End premiere The original West End cast, playing at the Globe Theatre (now Gielgud Theatre) and directed by Noel Willman, included Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More. In London, Man ran simultaneously to another of Bolt's plays, The Tiger and the Horse. Both plays were major hits, although Horse was the more successful of the two. British critical reaction was largely positive, albeit reservedly so; few reviews at the time regarded the play as a classic. The show ran for 320 performances.

Broadway premiere In the US, the play was first performed on Broadway on 22 November 1961 at the ANTA Playhouse, again directed by Noel Willman, with Paul Scofield returning to the role of Sir Thomas More. The Broadway production was a huge hit, running for 620 performances. While the play had drawn mixed critical reviews in London, it was almost unanimously praised by the New York critics, who showered it with plaudits and awards. At the 16th Annual Tony Awards, the production earned four nominations, winning in all four categories it was nominated, including Tonys for Bolt, Scofield, and Willman.

Leo McKern played the Common Man in the West End version of the show, but was shifted to the role of Cromwell for the Broadway production – a role he later reprised in the film. While playing Cromwell, he appeared with one brown and one blue eye (McKern of course had lost an eye in an accident and wore a glass one) to accentuate his character's evil nature.

2008 Broadway revival A Broadway revival of the show, produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company, starring Frank Langella as More and directed by Doug Hughes, played at the American Airlines Theatre through December 2008. In this production, the character of The Common Man was deleted by the director (as Bolt had done when adapting his play for the first film version). Jeremy Strong made his Broadway debut in this production as Richard Rich.

Other productions Charlton Heston played More in several versions of the play-off-Broadway in the 1970s and 1980s, eventually playing it in the West End. The play was a success and the West End production was taken to Aberdeen, Scotland, for a week where it was staged at His Majesty's Theatre. Heston considered it among his favourite roles. He also directed and starred in a television film version (see below). The production gained a sort of notoriety when Dustin Hoffman spread the story that Heston (who had gone bald in his middle years) was so vain he insisted on wearing a wig over his own hairpiece while playing More to keep it a secret from the audience.