Jullienne outstanding in lead role as ATC delivers a lavish and thought-provoking view of Reformation.
Although he has a wicked sense of humour British playwright Howard Brenton takes his history seriously and ATC's sumptuous production of Anne Boleyn offers a bracingly intelligent vision of the Reformation as it plunges us into the complex theological disputes that underpinned Henry VIII's marital discord.
The play presents a dazzling interpretation of how the Protestant revolution destroyed the idea of a singular truth derived from a unanimously recognised authority and ushered in the modern world with all the chaotic uncertainties that accompany individual freedom.
All this is served up in a Baz Luhrmann style mash-up that has wildly contrasting genres, time-periods and music shaken together in an explosively potent cocktail.
Anne Boleyn is constantly morphing from coquettish flirt to Protestant conspirator, diabolical enchantress, devout Christian, and forlorn victim of ruthless intrigues. It is a heady mix that Anna Jullienne carries off as a thoroughly modern woman who finds personal liberation in a sustained exercise of willpower and self-belief.
