A Man for all Seasons

Robert Bolt

Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Jonathan Church Theatre Productions

York Grand Opera House

July 29-August 2, 2025; 2 hrs 30 mins

Orland James as the King and Martin Shaw in A Man for All Seasons at York's Grand Opera House. All pics: Simon Annand

Some people would claim Robert Bolt’s award-winning A Man for All Seasons is a rather old-fashioned play. No tricks - apart from one that we’ll come to in a minute; just a story with a beginning, a middle and an end, peopled by a carefully-conceived range of characters for good actors to bring to life. 

Nothing wrong with that, in fact it’s refreshing to watch a play that doesn’t preach but allows history – A Man for All Seasons is based on historical fact – to speak for itself.

It's quite the four-star treat for York Grand Opera House audiences, too, as this is the show's only Northern date before a West End run.

The cause of all the trouble is Henry VIII, attempting to rid himself of Catherine of Aragon, so he can marry Anne Boleyn and stand a chance of producing a male heir. The stumbling block is that Lord Chancellor Thomas More won’t agree to it.

At the centre of the drama is Martin Shaw’s More, a man of principle who won’t be moved from his beliefs. The actor has played the role before and you can see the attraction of his wanting more of More. His is a carefully modulated performance that slowly builds to the climax as – spoiler alert – More loses his head.

The main "trick" of the 1960 play, and it’s a smart one, is that Bolt adds a new character, the "Common Man", who much like a Greek chorus, commenting on the action and talking to the audience while moving props and setting up scenes. As played, brilliantly, by Gary Wilmot, the character is the perfect guide around a play that is essentially a lot of people standing or sitting around talking as family, friends and all the King’s men try to get More to change his mind.

A Man for all Seasons is far from being a dry and fusty slice of history. Bolt’s play puts heart and soul into the drama as More stubbornly refuses to do what the King wants, no matter the cost to himself and his family.

The play emerges as an absorbing historical tableau, with director Jonathan Church moving the action along with pace and energy, aided by Simon Higlett’s majestic but versatile set.

More info and tickets here