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Australia's national Shakespeare theatre company, Bell Shakespeare calls William Shakespeare's King John, one of his five most underrated plays "to see before you die," and lucky for those of us in the DMV, there's still time to see it before the play closes July 26 at Washington's Shakespeare Theatre Company.
“No, I defy all counsel, all redress,
But that which ends all counsel, true redress.
Death, death, O amiable, lovely death!
Thou odoriferous stench, sound rottenness,
Arise forth from the couch of lasting night,
Thou hate and terror to prosperity,
And I will kiss thy detestable bones,
And put my eyeballs in thy vaulty brows,
And ring these fingers with thy household worms,
And stop this gap of breath with fulsome dust,
And be a carrion monster like thyself
So speaketh Constance (Molly Malone), the mother of Arthur (Sadie O'Conor), lamenting his death and her own reasons for dying when she succumbs to "madness."
King John hosts matters from its 13th century timeline to today by way of power and the begetting of more.
Arthur was the nephew of King John (Eric Lane) who went to battle with the French King Phillip II (Amber Mayberry) who thought the English throne belonged to Arthur. King John, a suspected interloper to the crown, thinks France belongs to him.
Enter the Pope's Cardinal (Maryanne Henderson), the church angry with John over his refusal to acknowledge the Archbishop of Canterbury and excommunicates the king, siding with Arthur's claim to the throne.
John's mother, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (Tracy Coffey) is a powerful women who dies and so does Arthur, leaping (or thrown a la Russia?) from a castle's walls after his capture by John.
At the urging of the Cardinal, the French Dauphin Louis (Reese Cowley), who has married John's niece, Blanche (Layali Aljirafi) attacks England. John becomes ill from poisoning (by a monk) and hides in an abbey where his son, Prince Henry (Alex Ross) arrives to witness his father's death and be crowned king amidst peace.
Got all that? Good.
There's lots more to the story, of course, and director Aaron Posner brings out the best in his King John students from the Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy, a stunning class of soon-to-be graduates of the Master of Fine Arts program STCA conducts in conjunction with George Washington University.
The performances belie the short time, one year, the students have spent at STCA.
Throughout the production, interjections of lively choreography (by Nikki Mirza) with lip syncing and mime to contemporary music (by Matt Nielson and others) mixes today with yesterday and desired appeal to a younger audience.
Be great in act, as you have been in thought, King John encourages his nobles to act and not let dreams wander without action.
The play is presented in repertory with The Taming of the Shrew, the final acts for the students in the program.
Other in the cast are Elizabeth Loyacano as Hubert; Michael Burgos, Lord Bigot; Cammiel Hussey, Angiers citizen and Pembroke; Edie Backman, Earl of Salisbury and executioner; and Sydney Sinclair, Chatillion and Count Melun; and Ali Karambash, Duke of Austria.
Minjoo Kim's lighting is especially effective. The set is the useful remains from STC's Frankenstein.
Others on the creative team include Renea S. Brown, assistant director; Becca Janney, costumes; Lisa Ann Beley, props; Robb Hunter, fight director; and Bess Kaye, intimacy director.
What: King John
When: Through July 26, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. in repertory with The Taming of the Shrew
Where: Klein Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, 450 Seventh St., NW, Washington, DC 20004
Tickets: $20
Audience: For adults and mature children
For more information: Call the Box Office at 202-547-1122, seven days a week, 12 – 6pm. The Box Office windows remain open until curtain time.
Duration: About 2.5 hours with intermission
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