In 1533, the Spanish were enraged by Catherine of Aragon's divorce from Henry VIII. Eighty years later, Shakespeare engaged with the subject in his last play. Now four hundred years later, Rakatá, Madrid's premier young classical company, re-imagine this play from a Spanish perspective, with the thrilling clarity they bring to their productions of Spanish Golden Age work.
Henry VIII was famous in its own day as Shakespeare’s most sumptuous and spectacular play, but within the passages of grandeur works the mind of the mature Shakespeare: psychological and political insight, language of great depth and power and, in the figures of Wolsey and Katherine, two of his most vivid and memorable characters.
Is it time for sweet revenge? Sebastian Gil, Rakatá's lead actor, who plays Henry VIII, gives his verdict:
LL: From your Spanish perspective, how do you feel about Shakespeare’s Henry VIII?
The truth is that, be it the original version or the one we are realising, the treatment and portrait of Katherine is beyond improvement. She is practically the only character that Shakespeare saves in this play, he gives her a very profound sense of humanity, dignity, loyalty, and strength of character. All the others, including Henry VIII show weakness, even though of course we also see his grandeur and his importance in the historical context that led to the most important ideological, political and religious change in our modern era
LL: How different is your interpretation of Henry VIII from ones already done in English?
I imagine this play has been produced in many different ways already, what we wanted to do in this great political tale is to dive more deeply into the emotions and passions that are hiding in each scene. So our interpretation is very vivid and centred on the internal and external conflicts of each character.
LL: What and who has influenced your interpretation?
I’m a real fan of the English actors, who have a spectacular precision, possess incredible nerve, and project great truth.I’ve admired the Shakespearean work of Michael Caine, Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Rhys Ifans, Tim Roth, Ian McKellen, John Hurt. Before they asked me to take this role I had seen Henry VIII played by Charles Laughton and by Jonathan Rhys Meyers and I loved them.
But when I started studying for the role I didn’t want to let external images or ideas affect me. I decided to approach the character through his words, the decisions he takes, and his actions so that my incarnation of Henry VIII arose through the truths that I found within myself, even in the way I began to move, so as not to feel I was imitating anything. That isn’t a nice feeling. I imagine that some sense of what they’ve done lingers because their work made an impact on me, but it’s not a conscious thing.
LL: Is there something especially Spanish about your interpretation or will it just be Shakespeare in another language?
There is definitely something very Spanish in this production. Our education and our culture are very visceral and this comes through in this interpretation. Us Spaniards, we lose ourselves in our passions and this happens on the stage too. There is also the way of delivering the text, which has another cadence, different accents and emphasis to the English.
With respect to the language, just as Lope de Vega’s works in English loses the rhyme, so does Shakespeare’s in Spanish. But I think in both cases, they gain in new shades and meanings, emotion and sound.
LL: What would you like an English audience to take from your production?
I think it’s a good opportunity to see a totally external perspective of one of the most important events in English cultural history, in the words of actors and at the hands of a director who have lived a different type of tradition. I think some (I hope many) people could be surprised by the conclusions that we’ve come to. I hope that the audience takes from this the love and respect that and that they enjoy this work with us.
LL: Do you have to be a Spanish speaker to enjoy it?
I think it’ll be enjoyable even for people who don’t speak Spanish. It’s a great work and even if you don’t understand the text the situations and characters will be familiar and they’ll be able to follow without problems. The Spanish text has a particular song that’s pleasant and interesting for the listener.
Henry VIII, produced by Rakatá from Madrid, supported by The Instituto Cervantes, will be performed on Tue 29th May 14:20 and Wed 30th May 19:30 at Shakespeare's Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London SE1 9DT. Tickets
