Martin Shaw stars in A Man for All Seasons

Martin Shaw stars as Sir Thomas More – scholar, ambassador, Lord Chancellor and friend to King Henry VIII in Robert Bolt's classic play of conscience and courage A Man for All Seasons at York's Grand Opera House this month (July 29-August 2).

The play has been doing the rounds of southern England since January, and this is its only northern date before moving into London's West End on August 6.

Most people will remember the story from the movie version, but this arrived years after the original - which started life as a radio play on the BBC in 1954, before Bolt reworked it for BBC TV and later as a full-length play for the stage, which was a huge success in London and on Broadway.

The play of argument and ideas is based on the real-life history of Lord Chancellor More, whose refusal to endorse Henry's VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon put the two men at odds. The staunchly Catholic More was forced to choose between his loyalty and his conscience and chose the latter, using all his legal skills to avoid execution until the King finally got his way, his new wife and the Chancellor's head.

Shaw has been one of the UK’s most popular actors on stage and screen since the late 1970s with The Professionals, and more recently from Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently. His recent West End stage appearances include Hobson’s Choice, The Best Man and Twelve Angry Men.

The production also features another hugely-popular English performer, Gary WIlmot, whose early TV career gave way to starring roles in several stage musicals and plays. Here he plays several roles as "the common man", who comments on the action throughout the story.

More info and tickets here