First day of the new year, so I wanted to start to it at my favourite theatre, the Swan Theatre at the Royal Shakespeare Company. With the added bonus of watching my favourite play of 2019, Eleanor Rhode's version of William Shakespeare's King John. This was actually my fifth visit to see the play and it certainly hadn't lost any of it's impact. Eleanor Rhode has set the play firmly in the 1960's and we are treated to some great sixties tunes from the likes of The Beatles, The Kinks and The Spencer Davis Group when we take our seats and wait for the show to begin. The set comprises of a long table and we can see a telephone and boxes of Kellogg's cereal, so we already know it's not a traditional 11th century setting. The first act begins with some real swinging sixties dancing which does continue throughout the first half of the play. Costume lovers are in for a treat as well, as the 1960's theme continues here with great period style suits and dresses. The first half of the play is a joyous affair full of dancing, a magnificent boxing match, a food fight ( beware if you are in the front row as you may get flour on you, or hit by a bun - I did ), a visit from the holy legate of the Pope, and culminating in a bloody battle, which again, beware sitting in the front row as you may get blood on you - I did. The second act though is a much darker affair full of attempted murders, actual murders, battles and the death of the King.
Now we need to talk about the cast of this fine production. First up is King John played by Rosie Sheehy. Yes, that's correct a mid 20's young lady playing King John. When it was first announced there were a lot of murmurings around the traditional RSC goers, some already made their minds up it wouldn't be any good. I like to trust that the RSC know what they are doing and I was intrigued from the start and couldn't help think it was going to be good. I was wrong there, it was actually a fantastic decision. There was never a moment I questioned that she wasn't the King. Rosie is a terrific actor, who I'm sure will be a household name in a few years, and she plays the part like King John. It really doesn't matter that she's female. You never question that she isn't the King. That's it. They've hired an actor to play a part and she plays it well. Brilliantly in fact. And that's all you need to know. Apart from the stunning costumes she has, and they are stunning.
The rest of the strong cast are made up of seasoned Shakespeare actors like Tom McCall, Nick Gerard-Martin, John Cummins, Bridgitta Roy, David Birrell and Charlotte Randle. Joining them are Katherine Pearce, Richard Pryal, Michael Abubakar, Houda Echouafni, Nadi Kemp-Sayfi, Brian Martin, Ali Gadema, Sarah Agha, Zed Josef, Zara Ramm and Corey Montague-Sholay. There are also three young actors who share the role of the young Prince Arthur, who are Ethan Phillips, Gianni Saracen-Gunnar and Aaryan Dassaur.
There honestly isn't a bad actor amongst them, which is to be expected at the RSC of course. I have however been to see the play five times and have been fortunate enough to see various understudies having to step up due to illness etc. It is always amazing to me how the actors learn their lines in the first place, but having to learn lines for a different part, that you might never need to perform, well that is really amazing. And when they are suddenly thrown into it, and get it perfect, first time, well that's what being a truly great actor is all about. I've seen Nicholas Gerard-Martin step up to play the role of Hubert as well as one of his usual roles as a boxer, which then meant Ali Gadema had to step up to play Chatillon and then Sarah Agha had to play Essex. And they were all tremendous. I also had the pleasure of seeing Sarah understudy in the role of Lady Blanche after Nadi was injured, and she was fantastic. I also want to make a special mention of Michael Abubakar, who some of you may know from the BBC TV series 'Trust Me' with Jodie Whittaker. He plays 'The Bastard' and is kind of a narrator for the play. It's an excellent role and Michael plays it with a charming mischievousness which has the whole audience hooked to his every word.
Katherine Pearce plays Cardinal Pandulph. She brings humour and darkness to the role and brings real fear to the eyes of David Birrell's often bemused King of France. I think Katherine's Cardinal is one of the standout performance that has everyone talking at the end of the evening.
Another standout is Richard Pryal as the King of Austria who we first see dancing his way onto the stage in a giant fur coat, menacing his way around the stage and getting booed during the boxing match. Charlotte Randle is also brilliant as the grief stricken and going slightly mad mother of Prince Arthur, as is King John's mother Queen Elinor played by Bridgitta Roy. Nadi Kemp-Sayfi really plays the part of Lady Blanche perfectly and Tom McCall is just the right amount of stressed and tortured as Hubert. Houda Echouafni, Zara Ramm and Sarah Agha are all excellent on the wall, and Ali Gadema, John Cummins, Corey Montague-Sholay and Zed Josef are all great in their roles of various Dukes and Lords. The French are also brilliantly portrayed. David Birrell is a classic actor who makes the King of France come humorously alive and his son Lewis, played by Brian Martin is also a great comic role.
You've probably guessed I like this play. I've seen it five times and will try to see it again before it ends in March. During the boxing match there is an English side of the audience and a French side. I've not yet sat on the French side so I feel I need to give it a go. Funnily enough last time I went I spoke to Rosie and Michael and told them I'd be sitting on the English side to cheer them on. Later it occurred to me that Rosie is Welsh and Michael is Scottish, so I might not have been too tactful there.
Problems? Not really from the production or casting side of things, although perhaps another dance number in the second half might have been nice, even if it might not quite fit the tone. I think the real problem is with the writer. That's right, I'm moaning about William Shakespeare's storytelling here. Possibly due more to history than Shakespeare, although he has been know to alter the truth somewhat. In the second half we lose the King of France, King of Austria, Queen Elinor and focus more on the young Prince, Hubert and the Dauphin. The audience misses these characters, so Will, if you're reading this, a few edits to the text please.
Side note, I always like to get my Theatre programmes, as well as flyers, posters and production photos signed by the cast, as well as directors and writers. After recently meeting the writer of A Museum of Baghdad, I thought to myself how I needed to get the writer of King John to sign my programme. It took me a while to realise that meeting wasn't going to happen.
In conclusion, go see this play. Even if you don't normally like Shakespeare, you'll like this. Just the spectacle of it is enough. It ends in March, forever, so book a ticket today.
To book tickets or check out the production photos visit this link:
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