London Theatre News & Reviews

The Reviews are in for 1536

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Set in Tudor England, Ava Pickett's darkly comedic feminist stage play, 1536, transfers to the West End and The Ambassadors Theatre after a sold-out run at the Almeida.

With Hollywood star Margot Robbie as a producer, and a BBC TV adaptation in the pipeline, it is set in rural Essex during the turbulent reign of Henry VIII.

The play focuses on three young, unmarried women as they navigate village life and marriage at a time when the monarch's falling out with - and eventual execution of - his second wife, Anne Boleyn, seems to embolden misogyny and violence by ordinary men in their own lives.

The reviews are in:

"The remarkable 1536 is the West End hit of the year. Fresh, funny and devastating, Ava Pickett’s vision of Tudor England is brought to life with nuanced acting and superb design." ★★★★★ (The Telegraph).

"Believe the hype. Pickett’s debut play, which shows how Henry VIII’s repudiation of Anne Boleyn echoes down to three 16th-century Essex girls – and by extension to women today – is every bit as arresting and electrifying as it was at the Almeida last year." ★★★★★ (The Standard).

"This West End transfer is a chance for its fiery message to spread further. Her writing is sparky and contemporary. Remove the Tudor garb and references to execution, and the portrait she paints of a rotten patriarchy could well speak for the current, Andrew Tate-style brand of toxic masculinity." ★★★★ (The Stage).

"Pickett’s dialogue nails her protagonists’ teasing intimacies and friendly rivalries from the off. Max Jones’s design counters the contemporary, sometimes sweary chat with a bewitching countryside set that uses shifts of colour to take us through seasons and times of day." ★★★★ (The Times).

"Directed by Lindsey Turner, the production is exceptionally handsome and the staging exemplary. All the action takes place on the edge of a field of corn, with a withered tree to one side, where shifts in mood are emphasised through impeccable lighting (by Jack Knowles) that moves from a warm sunny orange and a dismal grey at night to an intense, lurid scarlet when danger looms." ★★★★ (The Arts Desk).

"Pickett’s play is a tour de force, and 1536 one of those theatrical moments that stays with you for a very long time." ★★★★★ (Time Out).

While reviews of the original run at the Almeida Theatre in May 2025 added:

"1536 is both an easy and a deeply unsettling watch. The contemporary parallels sometimes feel slightly overplayed and, dare I say it, I could have seen more of the men. When they do appear, the scenes glimmer with menace and we are plunged into a world where even the slightest gesture – the refusal to eat a sweet, say – feels fraught with an all-too recognisable danger." ★★★★ (The Guardian).

"Still, 1536 pulls the past into the present with unflinching clarity and bitter humour. Pickett skewers how misogyny trickles down from kings and courtiers to village boys and lovers. The result is a play that feels vital and gripping. With its killer laugh-out-loud one-liners, pitch-perfect performances, and chilling observations, 1536 isn’t just a period piece; it’s a call to arms, dressed up as a comedy." ★★★★ (The Independent)

"The political themes are apparent, from fake news to male anger. 1536 graphically portrays the fear of many women, as our society becomes increasingly hostile to women who defy patriarchal expectations. This is the best evocation of increasing male rage, in fiction or journalism, that I have seen." ★★★★★ (Everything Theatre).

"The play’s complex personal entanglements amplify the way love and desire can be warped by power. But they come to a head in a frantic final section that feels rushed and unbalances the production — it seems to end several times. These drawbacks aside, however, this is a cracking debut, gorgeously acted." ★★★★ (Financial Times).

Overall: ★★★★½

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