A King and No King (review)

• Published in: Shakespeare bulletin 2021-07, Vol.39 (2), p.305-309
• Main Author: Pasupathi, Vimala C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actors; Beaumont, Francis (1584-1616) / Fletcher, John (1579-1625); Drama; Dramatists; Movement (Physical); Reading; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Theater
• ISSN: 0748-2558; 1931-1427; 1931-1427
• DOI: 10.1353/shb.2021.0033

If they could not, in their respective black boxes, give human plausibility to the play’s improbable turns, they succeeded in showcasing the clarity, boldness, and sometimes astonishing modernity of Beaumont and Fletcher’s writing for the stage. Because this performance was part of a reading series (and not intended to be staged in a full production) from its inception, the cast and director were free from any mandate to push the play’s contemporary relevance and make Arbaces into an analogue for (now-former) US President Donald J. Trump. [...]I thought the online platform was probably to blame more than the actors for my assessment that some key scenes in A King and No King whose content hinged on physical actions were unsuccessful. Because the hierarchies in place between a benefit reading and a fully staged performance had collapsed somewhat, I am sure I had come to expect more physical movement from the actors than I probably would have had I watched the reading in a purpose-built theater. [...]the lack of gesture and physical action was certainly more than made up for by the pleasure that came from watching the actors begin a rarely performed play by reciting the various locales from which they were joining––including Washington, DC, Brooklyn, and London.