“You could say the same about me… And you probably do”. That
cutting end to a sentence uttered by the Sir Thomas Cromwell of the BBC2
adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s “Wolf Hall” was delivered with such poise and
timing by Mark Rylance that it felt like I had listened to an ancient proverb. The
scene, which saw Cromwell standing away from the Royal Court and being treated
like the town gossip by Jane Boleyn, encapsulates the nature of all politics. It is a good lesson: the person whose nature it is to collude with you demonstrates that the traits
of a person who is likely to conspire against you.
