Stage adaptation of Hilary Mantel novel already a success as Mark Rylance prepares to play Thomas Cromwell in BBC version
Hilary Mantel's historical novels have proved a big draw at the RSC. Photograph: Zak Hussein/Press Association
Normally a stage show only sells out well in advance of opening night when a film star is in the cast or it contains songs by a well-known band. But this month the Royal Shakespeare Company has a very different beast on its hands: a story of political intrigue in the Tudor court. And the ruthless machinations of Henry VIII are proving just as big a draw as any Hollywood A-lister.
Such is the Hilary Mantel effect. Most tickets for the first theatrical adaptations of the author's multi-award-winning books, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, disappeared soon after going on sale in the spring.
Those who hoped to see the twin productions at the Swan theatre in Stratford-on-Avon this month, but were unlucky, will have to try again when they transfer, as expected, to London in the new year.
Writer Mike Poulton had to translate Mantel's dark and suspenseful historical fiction into a drama less than a year after the publication of the second book. Poulton, who also adapted The Canterbury Tales and Gregory Doran's production of Morte d'Arthur for the RSC, is promising some "very telling dances" to communicate the tensions of Mantel's story.
"We had to create a viable play, rather than just try to put the novel on its feet – because you can't do that," he said. "In a novel you take your time, you enjoy the pictures it creates in your mind, you go back and reread." The big difficulty for Poulton was editing the hefty story down without losing the clarity and detail. The writer, who has worked closely with Mantel, has spoken of the pain of choosing what to leave out. "The one thing you can't do is condense it and say we'll do broad brushstrokes. You can't ask an actor to play broad brushstrokes."
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Such is the Hilary Mantel effect. Most tickets for the first theatrical adaptations of the author's multi-award-winning books, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, disappeared soon after going on sale in the spring.
Those who hoped to see the twin productions at the Swan theatre in Stratford-on-Avon this month, but were unlucky, will have to try again when they transfer, as expected, to London in the new year.
Writer Mike Poulton had to translate Mantel's dark and suspenseful historical fiction into a drama less than a year after the publication of the second book. Poulton, who also adapted The Canterbury Tales and Gregory Doran's production of Morte d'Arthur for the RSC, is promising some "very telling dances" to communicate the tensions of Mantel's story.
"We had to create a viable play, rather than just try to put the novel on its feet – because you can't do that," he said. "In a novel you take your time, you enjoy the pictures it creates in your mind, you go back and reread." The big difficulty for Poulton was editing the hefty story down without losing the clarity and detail. The writer, who has worked closely with Mantel, has spoken of the pain of choosing what to leave out. "The one thing you can't do is condense it and say we'll do broad brushstrokes. You can't ask an actor to play broad brushstrokes."
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