Tuesday, May 15, 2012

King John Review

King John
(Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon)

As part of the World Shakespeare Festival, the Royal Shakespeare Company is putting on plays within two different themes, Nations at War and What country friends is this. I will see the latter's offerings during the summer, but for now I will review two offerings from Nations at War, King John and Richard III. As the title suggests, the theme is built around countries at war and the  resulting effects for the countries. First up is King John, which is also the second Shakespeare play I saw for the first time this year.

Following the death of Richard I, his brother King John (Alex Waldmann) succeeds to the throne. However his claim is challenged by the French King Philip (John Stahl), who supports John's nephew Arthur as claimant. Meanwhile, before going to France John has a bastard of Richard's (Pippa Nixon) knighted. Conflict between England and France ends when it is proposed that Philip's son, Louis the Dauphin (Oscar Pearce), should marry John's niece, Blanche (Natalie Klamar). However war breaks out again when John denounces the Pope, after he is accused of interfering of the choosing of an Archbishop of Canterbury. John is victorious and takes Arthur prisoner, yet his extravagance and the apparent murder of Arthur causes his nobles to rise up against him

The overall idea behind the production is an odd one to describe. Starting with the designs would be best because it is more of a visual production than anything. The overall design of the set is that of a party, which eventually happens by the middle of the first act. At this point the set reminds one of a local community hall hired for such an occasion, with cheap looking carpets covering the entire stage. Large balloons are held within some netting at the back, and remained there until the second act during which they come bouncing down a large set of stairs. By the end the whole stage is littered with balloons, bottles and party hats, symbolising how money is being frittered away under King John's rule.

The choice of costumes was rather confusing at times. Understandably John and his followers were dressed up in colourful and casual costumes, except during wartime when they would dress smartly in uniform. The French however were a mix of casual and formal, especially during wartime. Even John Stahl in a light blue uniform looked outlandish, despite his angular and commanding face. The pope's messenger Pandulph (Paola Dionisotti) though, looked like something out of The Matrix or Men in Black by wearing black clothing and tinted glasses, thereby establishing the papacy's power to change alliances and manipulate events. Meanwhile, rhe English nobles looked like traditional versions of Shakespeare's characters, by wearing military and dark clothes during the entire production.

The theme of leadership is apparent in this production. King John is one of Shakespeare's least known plays due to its episodic structure. The first half shows King John celebrating his succession. The second half shows the consequences of King John's style of kingship. This contrast is shown in this production. Act one gives us a 5-10 minute party sequence, whilst the second act shows the English Nobles striding though piles of balloons and bottles to confront the King. If I do have an issue, it is that for all the visual moments this production has it spends little time on the messages it is trying to convey. The episodic structure may be the cause of this, but a sense of the growing consequences would have been nice during the first act. The theme of nationalism for one is only shown briefly at times. The Bastard comes on at the start and plays Rule Britannia on a guitar, and a neon sign was revealed behind the balloons, which said for god and england, but that was just about it. If director Maria Aberg had focused less on the visuals and more on the context then this production would have been more meaningful than it is.

That it is not to say that this production was not entertaining in the acting department. Alex Waldmann played King John with energy and playfulness, as he struts around the stage, cigarette in hand, whilst posturing towards the French. Yet he had a determined edge as he gave commands with resolution, especially when his decisions would have been seen as immoral by others. As his grip on power loosens however, he becomes a sorry sight as he tries to attempt a dance number whilst imagining one of his previous moments of glory. Changing the gender of the Bastard would seem odd, but Pippa Nixon was feisty as the character. It was easy to connect with her during moments when it was clear that the action was being shown from her point of view when she talks aside to the audience. She also brought a moral side to a number of scenes in the second act, which made her actions credible. The others played their parts well within the light hearted direction the production was taking, though I did not like some the decisions that were made. The people of Angers for example were shown as stereotypical Frenchmen with trench coats, berets and moustaches.

I like radical changes to plays. Rupert Gould's The Merchant of Venice was a very entertaining take on the play by setting it in Las Vegas. I enjoyed how this production took a different direction for this history play, but what was great about The Merchant of Venice was that it had a point to make. This production was showing different themes in the play with style and huge amounts of energy from the leading actors, yet never had anything to say about them. This is worth seeing at a high Bargain.

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