I don't mind productions that update Shakespeare, but I'm not sure a little-known play like King John is the best candidate for it. Eleanor Rhode places this in the latter half of the 20th century (there are still dial telephones), yet as the play goes on we see more of an 18th-century appearance to the costumes. The most noticeable directorial choices are a female lead, not at all disguised as a man but still addressed as King John, and a female actor for the papal legate. The legate's gender didn't bother me, but making her a comic role did. I admit to also not appreciating the way battles were handled, especially the boxing match at Angiers.

There were a number of cuts in the text, but the only one I really missed was Arthur's death scene, which IMHO is needed to undercut the emotional highlight of Hubert's change of heart. This play is all about oath-breaking for political reasons, and Hubert's oath-breaking is the only one done for a good cause. Shakespeare had the boy die anyway as a way of showing that even humane actions can seem useless in a chaos of treachery.

The good thing about this production is that every single actor is excellent, and that is no small thing. Even the youngster who played Arthur did a great job, although his line delivery could perhaps have been better. The actors brought what on paper is a boring play to life, an impressive accomplishment. Compared to the 80s BBC production - the only other one I could find available on film - Philip Faulconbridge/Richard Plantagenet here is very likable. If you want to see this play for the first time, I'd recommend the BBC version, but if you find yourself fallling asleep with that one, try this.