WOLF HALL's Hilary Mantel and More Set for THEATER TALK This Weekend

THEATER TALK focuses on Wolf Hall, a two-part British theatrical spectacle -- based on the best-selling historical novels by Dame Hilary Mantel, WOLF HALL and Bring Up The Bodies -- about the rise of Thomas Cromwell, a blacksmith's son, to become the trusted confidante of King Henry VIII. The plays, a hit in London, just opened on Broadway to critical raves. Appearing with Dame Hilary on THEATER TALK are director Jeremy Herrin and actors Ben Miles (Thomas Cromwell) and Nathaniel Parker (Henry VIII).

Mantel describes Cromwell as a "big-picture man, a visionary" who helped Henry strategize how to annul his first marriage (at a time when divorce was not an option), then begin and end another in pursuit of a male heir. This true story from the 16th century is engrossing, bloody and surprisingly modern in its sensibilities. Prior to the show's rapturous opening-night reviews, Mantel happily describes participation in the production, saying, "I usually hang out with a crowd of dead people!"

Hosted by Michael Riedel of the New York Post and producer Susan Haskins, this episode premieres in the New York metropolitan area Friday, April 17 (2015) at 1 AM (Saturday morning) on Thirteen/PBS, and continues on CUNY TV* Saturday 4/18 at 8:30 PM, Sunday 4/19 at 12:30 PM, and Monday 4/20 at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM.

THEATER TALK is jointly produced by the not-for-profits Theater Talk Productions and CUNY TV. The program is taped in the Himan Brown TV and Radio Studios at The City University of New York (CUNY) TV in Manhattan, and is distributed to 100+ participating public television stations nationwide. THEATER TALK is made possible in part by The New York State Council on the Arts, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The CUNY TV Foundation and The Friends of THEATER TALK.

*CUNY TV, the City University of New York television station, is broadcast in the New York metropolitan area on digital Ch. 25.3, and cablecast in THE FIVE boroughs of New York City on Ch. 75 (Time Warner; Optimum/Brooklyn), Ch. 77 (RCN), and Ch. 30 (Verizon FiOS). The show is available online anytime at www.cuny.tv and www.theatertalk.org and via iTunes podcasts.