King John
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About this listen
The Life and Death of King John was probably written in the 1590s but not published until the First Folio in 1623.
Of Shakespeare's 11 history plays, King John is the one which deals with the story of a monarch most removed from Shakespeare's time. The historical remoteness of this ruler, and also the fact that he had no genealogical links with the Tudor dynasty, enabled Shakespeare to present him in a warts and allà fashion. The narrative of the play mirrors accords closely with the traditional portrait of a cunning, unscrupulous, vacillating, cruel and irascible sovereign, who managed to alienate his own nobles, France and the Roman Church.
Philip, king of France, claims that Arthur, John's nephew, is the rightful king of England, and threatens war if John will not abdicate. The hot-tempered John contemptuously dismisses this claim and invades France. Full-scale war is about to break out when Hubert, a leading citizen of Angiers, before which both armies are encamped, suggests an ingenious diplomatic solution to the conflict: Philip's son, Lewis, is to marry Blanch, John's niece. By this arrangement, Philip gains territory and John's hold on the English throne will become more secure. All parties accede to this suggestion, except Blanch's mother Constance, and the wedding goes ahead. However, this happy resolution is destroyed by the arrival of Cardinal Pandulph, the legate of the imperialistic Pope Innocent III, who excommunicates John for appointing a bishop of whom the Pope does not approve. Philip decides that his allegiance to Rome is more important than his pact with John, and war breaks out. Later, Lewis invades England at the instigation of Pandulph, who suggests that Lewis' claim to the English throne is as strong as those of John and Arthur. John eventually reconciles with the church, and while a peace agreement between England and France is being arranged by Pandulph, dies, after being poisoned by a rebellious monk.
As a shrewdly incisive portrait of internecine Medieval politics, this play has few equals, and in the character of the Bastard, the illegitimate son of King Richard I, one of the most compelling roles in the Shakespearean canon.
Cast
King John - Craig Franklin
Philip the Bastard - Andy Harrington
Earl of Pembroke and King Philip - Denis Daly
Chatilion, Cardinal Pandulph and Peter of Pomfret - Alan Weyman
Earl of Essex and Hubert de Burgh - David Prickett
Earl of Salisbury and English Herald - Steve Gough
James Gurney, Duke of Austria, Executioner and Melune - Ben Stevens
French Herald and Lord Bigot - Peter Tucker
Robert Faulconbridge and Lewis the Dauphin - Russell Gold
Arthur and Prince Henry - Becca Maggie
Queen Elinor and English Messenger - Cate Barratt
Constance - P.J. Morgan
Blanch and French Messenger - Arielle Lipshaw
Lady Faulconbridge - Linda Barrans
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Overall
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As an aging, tenacious Elizabeth I clung to power, a talented playwright probed the social causes, the psychological roots, and the twisted consequences of tyranny. In exploring the psyche (and psychoses) of the likes of Richard III, Macbeth, Lear, Coriolanus, and the societies they rule over, Stephen Greenblatt illuminates the ways in which William Shakespeare delved into the lust for absolute power and the catastrophic consequences of its execution.
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Too Close for Comfort
- By C. Gross on 05-10-18
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A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare
- 1599
- By: James Shapiro
- Narrated by: James Shapiro
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Abridged
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1599 was an epochal year for Shakespeare and England. During that year, Shakespeare wrote four of his most famous plays: Henry the Fifth, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and, most remarkably, Hamlet; Elizabethans sent off an army to crush an Irish rebellion, weathered an Armada threat from Spain, gambled on a fledgling East India Company, and waited to see who would succeed their aging and childless queen.
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Note!--Abridged version
- By Scott on 01-05-16
By: James Shapiro
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The Life and Times of Chaucer
- By: John Gardner
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In this exquisite biography, John Gardner brings to life Geoffrey Chaucer, illuminating his writings and their inspiration like never before. Through exhaustive research and expert storytelling, Gardner takes readers through Chaucer’s varied career - from writing The Canterbury Tales to performing diplomatic work at the Parliament - and creates a fully realized portrait of an author whose work would remake the English language forever. Written with passion and insight, this a must-listen for those interested in Chaucer and the medieval time period.
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Good book, but quoted passages are in Old English
- By Kathi on 02-26-14
By: John Gardner
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The Talisman
- By: Sir Walter Scott
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The Talisman revolves around the Third Crusader's camp in the Holy Land whereby there exists a truce between the Christians and the Muslims. The camp, which is led by King Richard I of England (the Lion-heart) who is grievously ill, is being torn apart by tensions between rival leaders.
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a simple story but a joy to listen to
- By Adele Lemmon on 08-23-19
By: Sir Walter Scott
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Don Quixote
- By: Tobias Smollett - translator, Miguel de Cervantes
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 36 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Don Quixote, the world's first novel and by far the best-known book in Spanish literature, was originally intended by Cervantes as a satire on traditional popular ballads, yet he also parodied the romances of chivalry. By happy coincidence he produced one of the most entertaining adventure stories of all time and, in Don Quixote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, two of the greatest characters in fiction.
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A MUST READ CLASSIC
- By Randall on 04-25-09
By: Tobias Smollett - translator, and others
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The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Keith Moore, Toby Leonard Moore, Colin McPhillamy, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Author Peter Ackroyd has won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Whitbread Novel of the Year, and the Guardian Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s immortal work, this retelling of The Canterbury Tales follows a party of travelers as they tell stories amongst themselves about love and chivalry, saints and legends, travel and adventure. Through allegory, satire, and humor, the tales help pass the time during their journey.
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WOW
- By Mitchell Drimmer on 02-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
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Don Quixote
- By: Miguel de Cervantes, Gerald J. Davis - translator
- Narrated by: John Hanks
- Length: 20 hrs
- Unabridged
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Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, follows the adventures of Alonso Quijano, a hidalgo who reads so many chivalric novels that he decides to set out to revive chivalry, under the name Don Quixote. This is the story that a Nobel Prize Committee survey of one hundred of the world's best writers named "the greatest book of all time."
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A wonderful, magical listen
- By K on 12-01-13
By: Miguel de Cervantes, and others
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The Year of Lear
- Shakespeare in 1606
- By: James Shapiro
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In the years leading up to 1606, since the death of Queen Elizabeth and the arrival in England of her successor, King James of Scotland, Shakespeare's great productivity had ebbed, and it may have seemed to some that his prolific genius was a thing of the past. But that year, at age 42, he found his footing again, finishing a play he had begun the previous autumn - King Lear - then writing two other great tragedies, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra.
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Detailed and satisfying
- By Tad Davis on 02-24-16
By: James Shapiro
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The Plays of Sophocles
- Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone
- By: Sophocles
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Sophocles was born at Colonus, near Athens in about 496 BC and is considered to be one of the premier playwrights of Greek tragedy. His stories may have been filled with strife, but Sophocles himself was prosperous and came from a good family. It is said that he was handsome, wealthy, and a highly respected citizen of Athens. During his life, he wrote over 120 plays and was instrumental in how plays would eventually be performed, including the addition of stage props.
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Bad Dialogue
- By Zoe Olvera on 08-12-18
By: Sophocles
What listeners say about King John
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- BaliDoug
- 12-15-20
Oh dear god make it stop
If the Bard heard this "performance" he could only hang his head in shame. How atrocious that the best reader was that of the stage direction, which, while well read, were in and of themselves a gross distraction. the phoney accents made the production seem like an episode in the 1960 Batman series: sure, Elenore of Aquitaine was French, but EVERYONE in the Plantagenet court spoke French until Richard II. Was it really necessary to make the greatest female of the middle ages sound like Inspector Clouseau?
No lover of Shakespeare could bear this literary abortion. Avoid my mistake. Spend the time, find a Folger's audiobook, or take a pass. Like a disease, none is better than more.
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