Reviewed
by Jerry Kraft
I
was excited by the prospect of seeing Shakespeare's "King John", a rarely produced history play
set in the 13th Century, performed by a company composed of many of the most
accomplished actresses in Seattle, and directed by Rosa Joshi, an experienced classical
director. Filled with ambitious and ruthless kings and partisans, both English
and French, vying for advantage in a struggle over a dubious succession, these
roles are meaty and assertive; they assay great conflicts of power and
character and consequences of action. What additional depth and complexity would
it add to have these strong men played by women, and what would it add to the
richness of the drama to see themes of empowerment and intrigue given a subtext
of the female experience?
Sadly,
the answer is almost none. The cast plays with passion and focus, but little
complexity or insight. Like so many productions of Shakespeare where men play
the roles, they mistake intensity for depth, volume and emphasis for power, and
sobriety for seriousness. Amy Thone gives us a King John without a trace of leavening
humanity, and from the opening moments this is a man who shouts to overwhelm,
acts without consideration of anything but personal advantage, wields power
without satisfaction and has no pleasure in any part of his life. More
importantly, she does not draw us into this condition. She does not make us
care to understand what such a life means, or what it costs the man himself.
Similarly, Gretchen Krich, who is a very strong actor, speaks the lines
beautifully and powerfully, but adds little dimension or inner-life to the Earl
of Salisbury's drama, and is not distinct enough as the French King Philip. The
result becomes a kind of intoned proclamation for the production as a whole,
and a verbal head-butting for the conflict between most of the characters.
There was also a sameness about the performances that detracted from the
variety and interest of the performance, and a general lack of rising action to
build tension.
There
were some roles that I especially liked, especially Ki Gottberg as Constance, the mother of the
young boy, Arthur. She brought a vitality and immediacy to her performance that
combined with real love and desire to make it quite affecting. I also liked Betsy
Schwartz as the
young Arthur who, faced with torture and mutilation, seemed genuine, vulnerable
and sympathetic. Peggy Gannon brought a charming bravado and sense of arrogant style
to her role as Philip the Bastard, and had a welcome illumination in otherwise
dark and comfortless halls.
Jennifer
Zeyl once again
did a splendid set design, setting the action in a long hall, spectators on
either side, a throne at either end, and all of it in harsh, stone-gray, save
for the blood-stained squares that lined the floor, and the crudely-drawn
blood-red lions behind the English throne. Costumes by Melanie Taylor
Burgess
emphasized the anonymous masculinity of men in power, and the lighting by Patti
West was stark
and inexpressive.
There
is a wealth of talent working on this stage, but the production is
undistinguished and ultimately rather boring. Rosa Joshi has directed her cast
to clear and cogent delivery of the text, but the tone has too little texture,
too little variety, too little insight. It becomes less an engaging historical
drama than just history proclaimed by angry people driven by ambition and fear.
Male or female, it isn't enough.