In Luc Bondy’s dazzling production, the opening act is like a frantic polka characterised by spontaneity and lots of drink. Under his masterly direction, the cast immediately come alive, roaming the stage, alert to each other, occasionally histrionic, often thoughtful, sometimes troubled.

The acting is both startling and moving, with the young cast unafraid to collide violently with one another in passion and aggression. At one point the fairly minimalist set is transformed by the characters into a scene of decadence, chaos and wasted oblivion, with broken glass, scattered cake and discarded bed linen littering the room.

And you learn everything you need to know about Natalie Dormer’s selfishly sensual Mitzi when she casually plants her hat on Christine’s carefully laid-out chessboard. But the performances throughout are as impeccable as the production. Read More …

This gorgeous Anne Boleyn dress is a handmade replica of the one worn by Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn in Season 2 Episode 2 of “The Tudors”, where Henry VIII makes Anne the Marquis of Pembroke