A rehearsed reading as part of the bi-annual Wolf Hall Weekend 2026
Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light, adapted by Hilary Mantel and Ben Miles
(The RSC sequel to Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, and recipient of the Edgerton Foundation and Olivier Awards)
Produced by The Tower Theatre
Saturday 6 June
All Hallows by-the-Tower Church
Byward Street, London EC3R 5BJ
General admission is via Wolf Hall Weekend tickets only
Book here
Tower Members and Friends can obtain one-day tickets or tickets for the reading only here (you have to be logged in to do this)
Presented by the Tower Theatre Company as part of the 2026 Wolf Hall Weekend, this exclusive rehearsed reading of The Mirror and the Light – Hilary Mantel’s gripping conclusion to her award-winning trilogy – brings to life the final days of Thomas Cromwell in the very place where the events unfolded. With a script adapted by Mantel herself in collaboration with the celebrity actor Ben Miles (who played the role of Cromwell on stage and will introduce the play as part of the weekend), this rare performance will unfold in the atmospheric setting of All Hallows by-the-Tower—only yards from where Cromwell was imprisoned, tried, and executed nearly five centuries ago.
The reading is part of a weekend-long celebration of Mantel’s work and legacy, featuring keynote speakers, authors, exhibitions, and local excursions. Tickets are strictly limited and available only through the Wolf Hall Weekend site. This is a one-time opportunity to experience Mantel’s masterful storytelling in a setting steeped in the echoes of the very history it dramatizes.
Cast
Christophe/Seymour : Mark Timmis
Wriothsley : Sebastian Chrispin
Rafe Sadler : David Miller
Gregory Cromwell : Alex Rowntree
Thomas Cromwell : Paul Willcocks
Walter Cromwell/Servant/Guard : Paul Graham
Henry VIII : Jonathan Wober
Stephen Gardiner : Tim Lerner
Duke of Norfolk : Richard Hague
Duke of Suffolk : David Wainwright
Kingston/French Ambassador/Holbein : Geoffrey Martin
Chapuys : John Stivey
Cranmer : Richard Patient
Helen Sadler/Dorothea Wolsey : Laura Riekola
Richard Riche : Sorrel Brown
Jane Seymour/Katherine Howard : Emily Hassan
Bess Seymour/Pilgrim 1 : Kate Pemberton
Lady Rochford : Sophie King
Anna of Cleves/Princess Mary : Ekaterina Baker
Abbess/Dr Butts : Vyvian Shaw
Ghost of Wolsey/Mary’s Servant/Pilgrim 2 : Vanda Grace
Production Team
Director : Dan Usztan
Assistant Director : Amanda Waggott
Stage Manager : Dinah Irvine
Technical Co-ordinator : Stephen Ley