1536, Ambassadors Theatre

History plays, especially those set in Tudor times, often remind me of going to school. So after watching Ava Pickett’s bold debut play, 1536, which won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and transferred to the West End after a successful run at the Almeida last year, I can hardly resist thinking of a multiple-choice exam. The play is set in the year that Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII, is arrested and executed for adultery, but while this happens in London, the plot of the drama is set in Essex, where three very different women, Anna (Siena Kelly), Mariella (Tanya Reynolds) and Jane (Liv Hill), discuss these distant events and relate them to their everyday lives. Directed by Lyndsey Turner, and designed by Max Jones, its themes include female friendship, misogyny, power and patriarchal violence. It’s all very contemporary, but your enjoyment is enhanced by knowing some history. So here goes:

1. Who was the first Tudor monarch?
A) Henry VIII
B) Henry VII
C) Edward VI
D) Richard III

2. Henry VIII’s sister Mary was married to the king of which country?
A) Spain
B) Ireland
C) Scotland
D) France

3. What was the name of Henry VIII’s son?
A) Arthur
B) Henry
C) Edward
D) Richard

4. How many of Henry VIII’s wives were executed?
A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four

5. What was the name of Henry’s wife who was executed in 1536?
A) Catherine Howard
B) Anne of Cleves
C) Anne Boleyn
D) Katherine of Aragon

6. Who was the only wife to give Henry VIII a son that survived beyond infancy?
A) Katherine of Aragon
B) Anne of Cleves
C) Anne Boleyn
D) Jane Seymour

7. The Queen was accused of committing adultery with which individual?
A) A musician
B) Her uncle
C) A baker
D) A candlestick maker

8. Under the Tudor legal system, what happened to a woman’s personal property when she married?
A) It remained entirely under her own control
B) It was legally transferred to her husband
C) It was split evenly between her husband and the Church
D) It was placed in trust for her children

9. Under the Tudor legal system, what was the specific legal term used when a woman killed her husband?
A) Homicide
B) Treason
C) Heresy
D) Petty treason

10. Many women in Tudor towns participated in “huckstering”. What does this mean?
A) Buying and selling goods in local markets
B) Designing elaborate dresses and ruffs for the nobility
C) Selling tickets for weddings
D) Creating country dances

ANSWERS: Marks will be deduced for everyday misogyny, violence against women and girls, and historical inaccuracy.

1 B
2 D
3 C
4 B
5 C
6 D
7 A
8 B
9 D
10 A

© Aleks Sierz

• 1536 is at Ambassadors Theatre until 1 August.

1536 adultery Almeida Theatre Ambassadors Theatre Anne Boleyn Ava Pickett female friendship feminism Henry VIII history plays Liv Hill Lyndsey Turner Max Jones misogyny multiple choice questions murder new writing patriarchy schools sex sexism sexual violence Siena Kelly Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Tanya Reynolds treason Tudor history violence West End