The Stage

King John

Published Wednesday 9 August 2006 at 11:00 by Sandy Holt

King John is one of Shakespeare’s rarely performed plays. Yet when you see Rourke’s politically harsh yet heart-wrenchingly tender production, you can’t help thinking it should be more of a regular on our stages.

Set against a symmetric, oriental backdrop in which Chinese lanterns and brightly coloured ribbon flags abound, this psychological and political history follows King John’s desperate attempts to keep the crown amidst a rival claim from Arthur, the son of John’s dead brother Geoffrey and Constance.

The cast give stellar performances - particularly Joseph Millson who plays the pivotal role of The Bastard. Millson’s witty and energetic performance reflects his masterly, yet fundamentally innocent character. Richard McCabe’s King John offers a perfect balance of venomous cunning and fearful cowardice and Tamsin Greig is a powerful Constance, who would rather speak and die than stay silent in her reaction to the wrong-doings.

There is an unforgettably moving encounter between Arthur (Ralph Davis) and Hubert (Sam Cox) as we see the latter’s emotional struggle as he tries to fulfil his order to kill the young duke.

And, adding to the excitement on this particular evening was the significance between the marriage on stage of Blanche (Morven Christie) and Lewis the Dauphin (Rupert Evans). The story had just broken that the couple, who also play the title roles in the RSC’s current main house production of Romeo and Juliet, had fallen in love in real life. You could have heard a pin drop during their King John stage wedding in Act II as Evans said: “Nay, ask me if I can refrain from love; for I do love her most unfeignedly”.