Decent. Not much of a plot, as "what it's about" jumps around from (1) Wolsey's conflict with the nobility, especially Buckingham; to (2) Henry's desire of annulling his marriage to Katherine so that he can marry Anne; to (3) Cranmer's loyalty and Elizabeth's baptism. There's not really one thread that ties it all together; it's kind of like a highlight reel of Henry's life, with much of the sensitive stuff (i.e. Thomas More) left out.

Worse is that most of the juicy stuff doesn't happen onstage. Instead, we have to hear from "First Gentleman" and "Second Gentleman" or "Chamberlain" about (1) Buckingham's trial; (2) Anne's coronation; (3) Anne's giving birth; and (4) Wolsey's death. I'd like to see any of those (except Anne giving birth, maybe--gross).

The best stuff that happens onstage, however, is about Katherine--who isn't moved by her walkout of the divorce hearings? She has the best lines (Except maybe Wolsey, a fascinating characterization). For the first half of the play, she is the real heroine, not Henry.

I just want to show off that I got this joke: "Ye have angels' faces, but heaven knows your hearts." (The Angle/angel pun had already been made by the Pope.)

At no point do we get to see Anne confront Katherine or vice-versa. That would have been great.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

[Aside] The late queen's gentlewoman,
a knight's daughter,
To be her mistress' mistress! the queen's queen!
This candle burns not clear: 'tis I must snuff it;
Then out it goes. What though I know her virtuous
And well deserving? yet I know her for
A spleeny Lutheran; and not wholesome to
Our cause, that she should lie i' the bosom of
Our hard-ruled king. Again, there is sprung up
An heretic, an arch one, Cranmer; one
Hath crawl'd into the favour of the king,
And is his oracle.

Come on! Who wouldn't want to see that?

Wolsey's apotheosis of a downfall is great:

CROMWELL

I have no power to speak, sir.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

What, amazed
At my misfortunes? can thy spirit wonder
A great man should decline? Nay, an you weep,
I am fall'n indeed.

CROMWELL

How does your grace?

CARDINAL WOLSEY

Why, well;
Never so truly happy, my good Cromwell.
I know myself now; and I feel within me
A peace above all earthly dignities,
A still and quiet conscience. The king has cured me,
I humbly thank his grace; and from these shoulders,
These ruin'd pillars, out of pity, taken
A load would sink a navy, too much honour:
O, 'tis a burthen, Cromwell, 'tis a burthen
Too heavy for a man that hopes for heaven!

Continued:

Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition:
By that sin fell the angels; how can man, then,
The image of his Maker, hope to win by it?
Love thyself last: cherish those hearts that hate thee;
Corruption wins not more than honesty.
Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,
To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not:
Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's,
Thy God's, and truth's; then if thou fall'st,
O Cromwell,
Thou fall'st a blessed martyr! Serve the king;
And,--prithee, lead me in:
There take an inventory of all I have,
To the last penny; 'tis the king's: my robe,
And my integrity to heaven, is all
I dare now call mine own. O Cromwell, Cromwell!
Had I but served my God with half the zeal
I served my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies.

Shakespeare was always preaching against ambition; it's a wonder he achieved so much.

Katherine's death, on the other hand, is kind of weird: "personages" in white, spirits, jump out on stage and do a dance in a dream sequence.

It's mildly entertaining; but compared to most of Shakespeare, it's inadequate. It's better than Pericles, at least.