It may not be Shakespeare’s best known play, but this RSC production of King John at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon is memorable for several reasons.
King John has just been crowned, but the French king would rather have John’s nephew, Arthur, on the British throne. Just when they manage to solve their differences, John refuses to listen to advice from one of the Pope’s Cardinals regarding who should be chosen as the Archbishop of Canterbury, and war breaks out.
Although it could be read as a somewhat dry play, which may be why it isn’t performed very often, this production, set in a mid 20th century alternative reality, found and placed plenty of humour in the play, including a food fight, a boxing match and a couple of dance numbers. There were very strong performances by the two gender blind characters, namely Rosie Sheehy as a bold King John and Katherine Pearce as the Cardinal. I particularly liked the Cardinal’s sassiness!
Despite not feeling like the scene where Arthur’s body was found worked very well, this was an enjoyable performance with a good mixture of humour, emotion and violence.
playsmanyparts 