Theatre Royal Bath
While this 1960 play has been overtaken by faster-moving tales of Tudor chicanery, Martin Shaw is compelling as Thomas More

Among the abounding villains and backstabbers of the Tudor age stands Thomas More, a good man who dared to take a silent stand against King Henry VIII. But Robert Bolt’s play shows that being good could be just as dangerous for one’s head.

This 1960 drama, which takes us through More’s last years, was immensely successful in its time, transferring to Broadway and adapted for film with Paul Scofield. Jonathan Church’s new touring production is smart and handsome but feels like an old-fashioned history play, creaky in parts though still an ultimately moving portrait of quiet heroism.