Anne Boleyn

Ilovecheese

There are people on Twitter blaming the BBC for rewriting history. So eager to criticise the BBC that they havn't noticed it is a Channel five programme

Hilarious !

“ If Benedict Cumberbatch announced he was playing Martin Luther-King there would be hell to pay.”

Anne Boleyn’s claim to fame had nothing to with her skin colour therefore it matters not that the role is taken by a black actor. However MLK ‘s claim to fame has everything to do with his being black therefore he couldn’t logically be played by a white actor.

Good point, Lucca.

jaylucy

I guess that the casting director chose the actress for her ability rather than bothering about the colour of her skin.
Well I hope it's that, rather than trying to prove a point.

Not sure what she will bring to the role, not really interested . Ann Boleyn was a white English Queen, first to be executed by Henry. Her claim to fame. Well played by many accomplished actors in the past. Won’t be watching.

I watched Othello with Sir John Olivier with my students today. Did I approve of him blacking up? No. Most definitely not. BUT he is a supremely good actor and we talked about the racism behind blacking up, how it is no longer acceptable and how it was ironic it occured in a film that is about racism.

Lin52

jaylucy

I guess that the casting director chose the actress for her ability rather than bothering about the colour of her skin.
Well I hope it's that, rather than trying to prove a point.

Not sure what she will bring to the role, not really interested . Ann Boleyn was a white English Queen, first to be executed by Henry. Her claim to fame. Well played by many accomplished actors in the past. Won’t be watching.

I wonder what colour her hair was? Because obviously, if she was a brunette, we wouldn't want anybody with red hair playing her.

Wouldn't be worth watching

PS - Anne Boleyn

Riverwalk

Ilovecheese

There are people on Twitter blaming the BBC for rewriting history. So eager to criticise the BBC that they havn't noticed it is a Channel five programme

Typical!

All the 'disgusted of Tunbridge Wells' types who never see the inside of a theatre, and have closed minds.

Riverwalk Please explain. What does the inside of a theatre have to do with this thread?

Having seen the trailers on Channel 5, I'm really looking forward to watching this series.

The actress Jodie Turner-Smith is absolutely stunning and it will be good to see what she brings to this role.

Isn’t there a difference between a part where colour or race is not an issue in the plot, such as Anne Boleyn in yet another Tudor drama, and a part where it is, such as Othello, or the Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice, whose first line is “Mislike me not for my complexion”, and whose failure to pick the right casket is marked by Portia’s aside: “Let all of his complexion choose me so.” [So she’s racist as well as anti-semitic.]

Those and other offending lines could be cut with no great loss, but that would not work for Othello. As one of the great actors of his generation, Olivier had every right to play the part, but I am not sure how he could have acted black, Gagajo, without the appropriate make-up. As it is, his original stage performance was criticised, and mocked in some quarters, for going over the top with his “black” accent; how far would he have gone without blacking up?

Lets not forget Jesus - the golden haired boy in our church books was darker skinned than we depict him.

He is also depicted with blue eyes, when statistically speaking he most probably had brown

Also for historical accuracy, they actress would have to have an extra finger on one hand.

And if rumour is to be believed, a third nipple!

Me again! The third nipple and sixth finger were both introduced as rumours by the Elizabethan writer, Nicholas Sander, who I mentioned upthread. As he wanted to get a Catholic ruler on the throne, specifically Mary, he was trying to discredit Elizabeth by casting doubt on Anne, and claiming that she was a witch, so Elizabeth was a witch's daughter and therefore not entitled to the throne.

It says a lot that those rumours have continued to the present day - I remember being told about them at school.

I think Jodie Turner-Smith is an excellent choice to play Queen Anne Boleyn. She’s strong, aware of the difficulties women face in life and being black will only have added to those difficulties. From what I’ve read this programme isn’t just regurgitating the myths (not always historical facts) surrounding Queen Anne Boleyn. It will be very much presenting events through Anne’s eyes. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they do with this.

I’m definitely Team Anne, I have always thought history has not been kind to her. King Henry VIII was a serial abuser imho.

I am team Anne as well.

Does anyone know the start date for this series? I have seen trailers saying 'coming soon', but not a date, and I want to set my recorder in case we aren't here when it airs.

theworriedwell

I don't remember any fuss when a French Canadian actress (Geneviève Bujold) played Anne Boleyn in Anne of a Thousand Days. She even won a award for it, how authentic was that?

But Anne Boleyn lived many years in France. She was fluent in the language and fashion of the court. Being, as she was a favourite of the Queen.
So there was at least some justification.

King Henry Vlll was a serial abuser IMV

He was an out and out tyrant.

Your modern turn of phrase for his actions made me laugh Blossoming.
Not at you I hope you understand!

I shall watch it with interest. I wasn't impressed by the trailer, but it does only show snippets. As far as I'm concerned Claire Foy has been the best Anne in Wolf Hall. Her execution was heartbreaking. She was very good at portraying the powerful woman controlling the king and not realising until too late that she had lost control and Henry was going to go to any lengths to get what he wanted.

Yes Claire Foy was wonderful. I really enjoyed both the book and the film. I loved the way she spoke,too, with the French accent. I also still remember, years ago, Henry V111 played by Keith Michell. He was so good I still think of it !

Sarnia I think it has been done to challenge perceptions which is something art does. Historically, however, I agree it is incorrect and for this reason I won’t be watching it as I am a purist. For the same reason I did not watch Victoria as it was historically incorrect, and I would not watch a white man portraying Martin Luther King. When it comes to Othello that is fiction and idk how many black actors were around when Sir Larry played the part but he had to black up. Maybe a black actress could be whitened up in the interests of authenticity?

Sidney Poitier was another brilliant actor, still alive at 94.

When you say you are a purist, 25Avalon, how far do you take it? Do you expect all actors to match the 'originals' in terms of hair colour, eyes, height, gait? Where do you draw the line, and bearing in mind that when all we have to go on are commissioned portraits by artists who were keen to flatter their patrons, how do you know what the original looked like?

And how do you know that something you haven't watched is incorrect?

That sounds quite probing, and it's not meant to ?. I'm just interested in how people decide which bits of history to take as 'pure'.

No I do not expect all actors and actresses to exactly resemble the person they are portraying in all respects but I do expect them to follow known facts such as AB, Bodeccia, Mary Queen of Scots, etc were white. I did watch some of Victoria but stopped watching when I realised that it was at variance with historical facts regarding her and Lord Melbourne as I had studied this period. I know Martin Luther King was black. So to render the argument reductio absurdo Doodlebug would you expect a black actor to play Hitler?

Sorry should be Doodledog