⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Four Stars)

Set under the blistering Tudor sun, 1536 at the Almeida Theatre brings together sharp writing, potent performances, and an evocative design to explore how the repercussions of contemporary events in the capital city are felt by women throughout society.

The play sees three friends meet in an overgrown field over the course of a scorching summer: the wide-eyed and ditsy Jane (Liv Hill) who has a dowry and thus has been able to secure a betrothal to a seemingly advantageous match, the midwife Mariella (Tanya Reynolds) who is heartbroken as the man she loves has married and is expecting a child with another woman, and the worldly and confident Anna (Siena Kelly) who is developing a reputation in town for her promiscuity. At the start of the play, the three women revel in gossiping about the other townspeople and poking fun at each other - these are the scenes where Ava Pickett's witty writing and Lyndsey Turner's direction shine the most and the trio’s banter is infectiously enjoyable. However, once news spreads from London of Queen Anne Boleyn's arrest, trial, and subsequent execution for treason and adultery, the tone shifts. The women increasingly feel the repercussions of the King’s treatment of his wife creeping out of the capital city and closer to home as the news of women being burned at the stake for adultery in a nearby town reaches them and the men of their own town become more violent and threatening.

Max Jones’ set design transforms the Almeida stage into a sun-bleached, overgrown field with dry, brittle grass and a single, weathered tree stump. Framing the stage is a stark white border that generates a feeling of the audience looking through a portal into the action on stage. Behind the stage is a wide white screen that serves as a canvas for Jack Knowles’ effective lighting design. Shifting hues cast across the backdrop indicate the passing of time, tracking the days as they grow more dangerous. Less effective, however, are the abrupt blackouts between scenes. While they sometimes punctuate emotional shifts with impact, at other times they feel unnecessarily jarring, interrupting the otherwise immersive rhythm of the play.

Where 1536 falters somewhat is in its structure. At one hour and fifty minutes with no interval, the tension builds with promise but ultimately lacks the resolution I was hoping for. The ending arrives with a feeling of being half-finished, as if the story has paused rather than concluded and I couldn’t help but wish for a second act, where the emotional and narrative stakes teased at the end of the play could be more fully realised to give the story a more satisfying end.

1536 runs at Almeida Theatre until 7th June 2025.

Tickets are available here: https://almeida.co.uk/whats-on/1536-play/