Anne was in love with Henry but also in love with the most dangerous ideas of her day. She conspired to make England Protestant for ever. I am fascinated by heroes and heroines who were ahead of their time, like Abelard and Heloise in my first play for the Globe, In Extremis. Anne was one of them. She could not know the future, of course. But she helped detonate a religious upheaval which culminated a century later in the Civil War, the breaking of divine royal power and the establishment of our Parliament.

I wrote the play to celebrate her life and her legacy as a great English woman who helped change the course of our history.

This article was first published in the Independent on 23 June 2010.

Original Production

Anne Boleyn was first performed at Shakespeare’s Globe, London, on 24 July 2010, with the following cast:

Director John Dove

Designer Michael Taylor

Composer William Lyons

The production was revived at the Globe in July 2011, with the following changes to the cast:

Characters

ANNE BOLEYN

KING HENRY VIII

THOMAS CROMWELL

CARDINAL WOLSEY

Anne’s women

LADY ROCHFORD

LADY CELIA

LADY JANE

SIMPKIN, Cromwell’s man

SLOOP, Wolsey’s man; then Cromwell’s

WILLIAM TYNDALE

KING JAMES I

ROBERT CECIL

GEORGE VILLIERS

PARROT, Cecil’s man

DEAN LANCELOT ANDREWES

DOCTOR JOHN REYNOLDS

HENRY BARROW

Plus

COUNTRY WOMEN

COUNTRY MEN

DIVINES, COURTIERS, SERVANTS

The action of the play takes place at the Court of King Henry VIII (1527–1536) and the Court of King James I (1603–1604).

ACT ONE

Scene One

Enter ANNE BOLEYN in her bloodstained execution dress. She has a large embroidered bag with her.