King John Review

King John
Royal Shakespeare Company
Swan Theatre
Thursday 10th August 2006

One of Shakespeare’s lesser known plays, King John freely adapts history to condense the reign of John into a compelling, drama filled play. Asked why the play isn’t performed often, Richard (Bill) McCabe, who plays King John said “probably because no one can decide who is the leading role – is it the King? Or Philip the Bastard?” Indeed, in the performance I saw, Joseph Millson, playing the Bastard, outperformed the King in almost all scenes.

The day after seeing the show, I had the pleasure of attending the understudy run of the show – and the King, here played by a brilliant John Heffernan, was most certainly the star of the show. And I’m sure there are plenty of people who have seen it who wish to disagree!
The story begins thus; John has become king, supported by his mother Queen Eleanor. But there is a rival claim to the throne from Arthur, the son of John's dead brother Geoffrey. John is told that King Philip of France supports the claim of Arthur, and so John declares war on France. Philip the Bastard arrives at court to settle a claim to his inheritance and is revealed to be the illegitimate son of King Richard. Created Sir Richard Plantagenet, he vows to follow King John to the wars in France . . . .
Directed by Josie Rourke the cast – including all my favourites from Much Ado and R+J – are as a whole superb. Bill, as King John, was a slimy, uncertain King, dominated by his mother and incapable of making a good decision. His looks remind me of Oliver Platt!

Joseph Millson, aka Mr Sexy Man, was as mentioned before, the highlight of the show. His monologues to the audience during the first Act were brilliant - he has an amazing ability to engage with the audience immediately (something not all actors have).

There have been few Shakespeare plays, I confess, that have brought tears to my eyes – indeed, I have no recollection of ever crying during a play (why is that I wonder?) However, two scenes in King John had my heart thumping and tears approaching. The final scene of young Arthur, brilliantly played by Jamie Thomas made my stomach drop and the entire audience gasp.

The other scene that brought tears to my eyes was Tamsin Grieg’s last scene. Playing Constance, mother of Arthur, her scene as she grieves was just heart wrenching, and I’ve never heard anyone scream quite so loudly.

A simple set of a metal floor, large, swinging doors/gates at the back. The dull silver works well with lighting – tinged blue during the French scenes and an orange/brown hue during the English scenes. (indeed, the Henry plays have a similar metal look.

A hauntingly beautiful score accompanied the play, written by Jocelyn Pook. A lone female singer performs slow, surreal melodic tunes, supported by the full cast on many occasions – once when they stood behind you in the aisles and chanted . . . . it gave me goosebumps!
The show has garnered 5 star reviews from most of the press – a fitting choice, I would say. I came out full of emotion, passion and awe! One to see again.