Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies - the RSC Stage Adaptation

by Mike Poulton

  RAFE. You’re tired. Shall I do this – shall I go in to him.

  THOMAS. No. They all say, ‘I am innocent…’ But none of them says Anne is innocent.

  He goes into ANNE’s room. She is praying – her AUNTS sewing. ANNE is deflated and bewildered. She has no idea what is happening.

  ANNE. Why is the King still holding me here? Is it to test me? Some stratagem he has devised – yes?

  No response.

  Will you fetch my brother here – fetch my father? And my bishops – where are they? I have nourished them – I have protected them. I have furthered the cause of religion… I can’t understand why they don’t go to the King for me…

  THOMAS. Help the King. Unless he is merciful, you are lost.

  ANNE. No – you’re wrong –

  THOMAS. You can do nothing for yourself… but you may do something for your child, Elizabeth.

  ANNE. No – I’ll not be here much longer. The King of France will speak for me.

  THOMAS. Humble yourself – make a show of penitence. If you bear the process patiently –

  ANNE (bewildered). ‘The process’? What process?

  THOMAS. The form of your trial will be decided when the confessions of the gentlemen –

  ANNE. What confessions?

  THOMAS. Of their adulteries with you.

  ANNE (shock). When I am released you’ll not speak to me in that way.

  THOMAS. By speaking out now – by being open – you could shorten the pain for all concerned. The gentlemen will be tried together. Your peers – since you are ennobled – will try yourself and your brother.

  ANNE. There will be no trial. They can’t have a trial without evidence – without witnesses. Whatever accusation they make – I can simply say ‘no’ to it.

  THOMAS. When you were at liberty, madam, your ladies were intimidated – forced to lie for you. Now… they are emboldened. There are witnesses.

  ANNE. Is Jane Seymour emboldened? Tell her, God sees her tricks.

  THOMAS. The King has begun a process to nullify your marriage.

  ANNE. Is murdering me not enough? What then will become of Elizabeth?

  THOMAS. Madam –

  ANNE. And where is Wyatt? Oh, Wyatt – Thomas Wyatt, I shall soon see you here with me… (Turns to go.) Cremuel – you don’t believe these stories against me? I know in your heart you do not.

  THOMAS. I do not know what is in your heart, madam. And sure, you do not know what is in mine.

  ANNE. Shall I not have justice? (Puts her fingers to her throat.) Then… I have only a little neck. It will be the work of a moment.

  Scene Twenty-Seven

  Court – WYATT and SUFFOLK shouting at each other. THOMAS and his entourage intervene.

  SUFFOLK. You’re not going in there, Tom Wyatt. The King’s seeing no one – he won’t even see me, so why would you think… (Laughs.) If you’re going anywhere, it’s to the Tower. Oh, you tell him, Cromwell. Explain it to him. (Goes.)

  THOMAS. Come with me, Tom.

  WYATT. Where? People will say I’m arrested – they’ll think you’re putting me in the Tower.

  THOMAS. You are arrested. I am putting you in the Tower.

  WYATT. That’s the end of me then.

  THOMAS. I’m locking you up for safekeeping.

  WYATT. As you have Anne? Is she there for safekeeping? What has she confessed?

  THOMAS. She’s confessed she never loved the King.

  WYATT. Never loved him. Never could. ‘Yes, yes, yes, no.’

  THOMAS. The King believes she’s betrayed him with several men – one his closest friend –

  WYATT. But nobody’s admitting anything, I hear? Except Mark Smeaton – and he hardly counts.

  THOMAS. Why should Mark lie?

  WYATT. Perhaps, because he wants the world to think he’s a man? Who knows the truth?

  THOMAS. The truth comes to Henry’s door wearing a cloak and a hood. And it is no stranger who comes calling. If she was not false in body, she was false in words. He laid half the world at her feet – and when he lay with her she imagined someone else.

  WYATT. Isn’t that how marriage works? If imagination is made treason then, God help us, half England should be in the Tower! If feelings are to be made crimes then I admit –

  THOMAS. Admit nothing. Norris admitted his love for her. He’s in the Tower – he’ll not come out.

  WYATT. What’s happening? Honestly – I’m perplexed.

  THOMAS. The King wishes he’d never seen Anne – or that he’d seen through her. Mostly, he wishes her dead.

  WYATT. And are his wishes law? Or is it tyranny?

  THOMAS. Men who violate the Queen commit treason.

  WYATT. You make it sound as if they had to use force.

  THOMAS. Look, Tom, I need evidence against Anne. In writing. You’ve told me how she conducts herself with men. She says, ‘Yes, yes, yes, no.’ Now… you must add another word of testimony: ‘Yes, yes, yes, no – yes.’

  Pause.

  WYATT. It was not testimony.

  THOMAS. What was it then? I cannot split myself in two – one part your friend, the other the King’s servant. So – here and now – you must decide. Will you add that one word? Will you write it down for me? If you agree, you’ll come out of this alive.

  Pause. WYATT gives a slight nod.

  Good.

  WYATT. She would not be his mistress, she must be Queen of England. So there is breaking of faith, and making of laws, and the country is set in an uproar. He had such trouble to get her – what must it be costing him to be rid of her? She’ll be a scourge and torment to him – even when she’s dead. Better nail her down.

  THOMAS. You have no tenderness left?

  WYATT. She’s exhausted it. Let’s not deceive ourselves. I know that if you put me in the Tower I’ll not come out. I have many enemies – they want my head.

  THOMAS. They shall not have it. (To the OFFICERS.) Show Sir Thomas every mark of respect.

  They take WYATT away to the Tower.

  Scene Twenty-Eight

  Westminster Hall. A court assembles, presided over by NORFOLK.

  NORFOLK. Bring up the bodies.

  GUARDS bring in NORRIS, BRERETON, WESTON and MARK. The three gentlemen shuffle away from MARK. The doors close.

  Scene Twenty-Nine

  THOMAS’s office. THOMAS, GREGORY, CLERKS.

  GREGORY. They are offering twenty to one that Weston will get off.

  THOMAS. He won’t. I wish you’d stayed away, Gregory – I wanted you clear of this sordid business.

  GREGORY. Well, I wanted to be with you. They say in the kitchen that if George Boleyn goes free he’ll kill you.

  THOMAS. George won’t go free.

  RAFE and EDWARD burst in.

  At last! Come on! The verdict?

  RAFE. Norris, Brereton, Weston and Mark. All guilty – all condemned – though nobody knows if they’ll go to Tyburn or not.

  THOMAS. I’ll move the King to grant them a swifter end.

  GREGORY. Mark too?

  THOMAS. Mark too. For his confession I offered him mercy. This is all the mercy I can deliver. How did they bear themselves?

  RAFE. The three heroes of the tiltyard accepted their fate – it was as if they saw the King of England himself bearing down on them. What hope had they? All expressed contrition – only Mark said for what.

  GREGORY. Poor little Weston! Who would have thought you could feel sorry for him?

  RAFE. I know the King must be served… but couldn’t it have been managed with less bloodshed?

  THOMAS. What? You think I could have negotiated with Anne Boleyn? Look, Rafe – once you have exhausted the process of negotiation and compromise – once you have fixed on the destruction of your enemy – his destruction must be swift – it must be perfect. Before you even glance in his direction, you should have his name on a warrant, the ports blocked, his wife and friends bought, his heir under your protection, his money in your strongroom, and his dog answe
ring your whistle. And before he wakes in the morning you should have the axe in your hand. Listen, boys. When men say it is I who have condemned these men, tell them that it is the King, and a court of law. Tell them proper formalities have been observed – that no torture has been used – whatever the word is in the city. These men are not dying only because I have a grudge against them. It’s beyond grudge. I could not save them if I tried.

  GREGORY. I hope you can save Tom Wyatt.

  RAFE. I must go back to Court.

  EDWARD. And I must go to Jane.

  Exeunt RAFE and EDWARD.

  GREGORY. Are they really guilty – and why so many? Would it not have stood better with the King’s honour if they’d named only one adulterer?

  THOMAS. It would distinguish that one gentleman too much.

  GREGORY. People would say Mark Smeaton has a bigger cock than the King, and he knows better than His Majesty what to do with it?

  THOMAS. What a way with words you have, Gregory! The King’s no private man – he cannot be secret – so he must take his cuckolding patiently. If he can show the world that the Queen’s nature is so bad she cannot control it – if it’s proved that so many men have erred with her, any possible defence is stripped away. That’s why these men came to trial first. They are found guilty, so must she be.

  GREGORY. I didn’t mean, ‘Did the court find them guilty?’ Father. I meant, ‘Did they do it?’

  Pause.

  THOMAS. Who knows? Intrigue feeds on itself – conspiracies have neither mother nor father, and yet they thrive –

  GREGORY. So they didn’t do it. When will they die?

  THOMAS (studies him). The Queen and her brother are to be tried in the Tower on Monday. It must be after that. And there’s still the matter of the annulment – and please, my dear son, don’t ask me why there has to be an annulment. Just know it’s what the King wants.

  GREGORY. Already gentlemen and ladies are riding to the Princess Mary to offer her their services.

  THOMAS. Ah, ‘the Princess’ Mary – she’ll soon be Henry’s heir again – offers for her hand will start flowing in.

  GREGORY. Won’t that put you in danger? You broke her mother’s marriage. Mary’s people won’t forget and forgive. They’re saying Rome will stretch out a hand to the King in his trouble – and if Henry crawls on his knees the Pope will forgive him.

  THOMAS. If the Pope puts out his hand I’ll stamp on it. Gregory… we are in no danger. If needs must I shall be a prodigal son to Mary’s people. I shall be the sheep that was lost. Baa, baa, baa…

  GREGORY. But, Father…

  THOMAS. Baa, baa, baa.

  Scene Thirty

  Chaos in the Tower. NORFOLK presiding over a jury of ninety-five and a huge, noisy and unruly crowd. ANNE standing, bewildered, forgotten – her presence is almost an irrelevance. Complete shambles.

  NORFOLK. You’re found guilty of treason, girl –

  VOICES IN THE CROWD. Shame! Her own uncle! (Etc., etc.)

  NORFOLK (banging his fist on the table and roaring). If you hinder me from reading the sentence of the court, I’ll come down among you and slaughter the whole baying pack of you!

  Noise increases.

  The judgment is this: to be burned here within the Tower, or else to have your head smitten off – as the King’s pleasure shall be further known –

  A LAWYER. Wait! Wait! You can’t say that –

  NORFOLK. What is it now? Who says I can’t –

  Chaos. LAWYERS and JUDGES go into a huddle round NORFOLK, arguing angrily sotto voce.

  These fellows tell me I’ve not done it right.

  SUFFOLK. Oh, for the love of God!

  NORFOLK. Lawyers! I cannot say burning or beheading – I have to say one. And they say I have to say burning – for that’s how a woman suffers when she’s a traitor.

  THOMAS (entering). Silence!

  Instant impressive silence.

  My Lord Norfolk takes his instructions from the King. The phrasing he used is the King’s pleasure… And do not tell me what can be done and what cannot be done. England has never tried a Queen before.

  SUFFOLK. We’re making it up as we go along.

  THOMAS. My Lord Norfolk, finish what you were saying.

  SUFFOLK. Then do the same for her brother and we can all go home to dinner.

  NORFOLK. What? I’ve done, haven’t I? ‘Or her head smitten off, as the King’s pleasure shall be further known… of the same.’ Well, I said that, didn’t I?

  Scene Thirty-One

  Outside KING HENRY’s chamber. KINGSTON comes out.

  KINGSTON. Master Secretary, what’s to be done? Is she to be burned? Surely the King will not permit it? What sort of a scaffold should I have made? I’ve never burned a woman before – it’s all so new to me.

  THOMAS. We must wait for the King to speak.

  KINGSTON. And what of the men? Five to die – all on the same day – five graves to dig – and the next a Queen of England! I’ll have the flagstones in the chapel levered up. It’s a lot of trouble – and it might not even be necessary – if she’s burned, will there be anything left to bury?

  THOMAS. Yes, there will. Lever up your flags, Sir William.

  KINGSTON. Her brother must go under anyway. He’s an Earl, isn’t he?

  RAFE. A Viscount.

  KINGSTON. Makes no difference – lords under the chapel flags – commoners outside.

  THOMAS. That’s right. Lever them up. Put them under.

  KINGSTON. Did you ever see a woman burned? It is something I wish never to see, as I trust in God.

  CRANMER arrives.

  Your Grace.

  CRANMER. Sir William.

  KINGSTON leaves.

  THOMAS. How is the Queen? Did she make confession to you?

  CRANMER. She will confess – at the last. If that’s what it comes to. She’s still hopeful she’ll be reprieved – she’s told herself the King will let her return to France. She says she’ll agree to anything – sign anything. She asks if the King wants her to admit she was married to Harry Percy.

  THOMAS. All the King wants is to wipe her from his mind – her and her lovers – past or present. Now his thoughts are only for Jane.

  CRANMER. She can’t believe the King has abandoned her. I find it difficult to believe myself. I’m beginning to think I know nothing – not about men – not about women. She asked, ‘When I die, shall I be the King’s wife?’ I told her no – there’s to be an annulment. She said, ‘But shall I still be Queen?’ I didn’t know what to say. Under statute I think she will be. She prays, she frets, she laughs… She asked after her ladies’ health… I hadn’t the heart to tell her they’ve all given evidence against her. How can she can think there’s still hope?

  THOMAS. Her sister Mary used to say, ‘She thought every day would be like her coronation day…’

  THOMAS goes in to KING HENRY.

  KING HENRY. What have you brought me?

  THOMAS. Death warrants, Majesty. Majesty, there is no gallows at Tower Hill –

  KING HENRY. No? Let it be Tyburn then. Though you know… young Weston… He’s very young – easily misled…

  THOMAS. I don’t think it a good idea to take them to Tyburn – the crowds might be unruly.

  KING HENRY. Why would they? The people of London don’t love these men – they hardly know them. (A grunt.) Very well – let us be merciful. The headsman then.

  THOMAS. Mark too? You know, he did confess – freely.

  KING HENRY. Weston, Weston, Weston…? Has the Frenchman come?

  THOMAS. Ah – the man from Calais? Not yet, sir. I wonder… Do you think, Majesty, it was in France – when the Queen was first compromised?

  KING HENRY (considers it). She was always pressing on me the advantage of France. Imagined Elizabeth would one day be France’s Queen. She was too fond of that nation. You know, I think you are right, Cromwell. I can’t believe it was Harry Percy took her maidenhead. He wouldn’t lie, would he? Not on his honour
as an English peer. No – it was in the Court of France she was first debauched.

  THOMAS. So it was in France. I never thought it was Wyatt.

  KING HENRY. No. It was not Wyatt. Not Wyatt.

  THOMAS. Majesty.

  Puts the warrants in front of KING HENRY. KING HENRY glances at them. He takes a pen and signs five of them straight off, a laborious, slow signature on each. He picks up the sixth and studies it.

  KING HENRY. You know… young Weston…

  He thinks for a long time. Then he signs it and starts to go, leaving THOMAS to collect the warrants.

  I cannot see how the whole thing occurred. I wish someone would explain it to me. When I look back over the last ten years I simply cannot understand myself. It’s as if I have been asleep – dreaming… Bewitched.

  Scene Thirty-Two

  GUARDS and GRAVEDIGGERS dump five bodies and five heads in bags in a heap. They begin to strip the clothes from the bodies. RAFE, GREGORY, CHRISTOPHE, THOMAS and KINGSTON go into the churchyard of St Peter ad Vincula.

  KINGSTON. Master Cromwell – still nobody will give me an answer. I must know! Is the Queen to die tomorrow?

  THOMAS. Yes.

  KINGSTON. You’re certain?

  THOMAS. Tomorrow. If the headsman from Calais arrives in time.

  KINGSTON. Headsman? No bonfire then? It’s decided, is it? Because nobody bothers to tell me anything – and if there are any more changes –

  THOMAS. We’ve had word he’s on his way.

  KINGSTON. Well, that’s what they tell you. They keep putting it off and putting it off. You think they’d give the poor woman a time and keep to it.

  KINGSTON goes to the GRAVEDIGGERS.