SIX at the Oxford Playhouse

 

The Oxford Playhouse was sold out to capacity on Thursday evening. In a tightly packed theatre (albeit with good legroom) I wondered what I was doing there with case numbers rising. But I had not been to the theatre for nineteen months when I saw An Inspector Calls at Milton Keynes.

At first I thought the band (two guitars, keyboards and drums) was deafening. But somehow I did get used to that, I think they must have turned the bass down. This was a highly energetic performance, sometimes a bit too loud and in your face for my taste. But the mix of musical styles would suit any member of the audience. 

The Queens give us their own stories and after the rocking Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, there came a wonderful ballad from Jane Seymour. This was all the more poignant for me as she was the sister of Edward and Thomas Seymour whose lives I studied hard for my screenplay set in the first three years of Jane's son Edward V1's reign. Jane sings Heart of Stone with tremendous verve.

But I had to wait until the last wife, Catherine Parr ( a central character in my screenplay), for the knockout of the evening. She actually sings a letter to her un-named ex lover. The subtlety of  the idea (not sure who else would have spotted this), is that this is actually Thomas Seymour the brother of Jane. Catherine and Thomas were together before Henry staked his claim. And Catherine sings I don't need your love, not knowing then that after Henry dies she does marry Thomas. So many memories of my researches came back. So that was worth it. 

All the six actresses put on a tremendous show, all were good singers and deserved the standing ovation at the end. And it was good to hear live music again.