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3.5*

I decided I would read the histories in chronological order of the Kings they are covering so here we are, King John of England, ruled 1199-1216, successor of Richard I, called Lionheart (his older brother) and predecessor of his son, Henry III.

The play covers the conflict of who is true heir to Richards throne, Arthur, son of Geoffrey who was Richards younger brother and John elder, or John, Richards youngest brother. John, claiming throne, is King of England, while Arthur, whose dad was bffs with the current King of France, is supported by the same. Shit happens. Like...lots of shit lmao !

Anyway,
It is said historically that during his reign, Richard has wanted Arthur to succeed him (Geoffrey had died age 27 pre Arthur’s birth) but upon his deathbed decided that Arthur, then a child of some twelve, was still too young to rule and made John his heir. At least that’s like, what John told ppl. So like, who was REALLY supposed to be King??? we just don’t know!

I am actually amazed that King John has such a low rating - I found it rather engaging, very grey with conflict and human emotion and survival instincts and very interesting... i ended up googling tons of shit on the side and learning some (probably more than I’ll ever need) on Johns reign and the conflict his father and his brothers and himself were caught in where it came to who the throne should belong to.

fun fact too, King John is the same King John who is portrayed as villain in the tales of Robin Hood. bitch was apparently pretty shitty as a person And a king. lol.

point is, I liked this more than I thought I would? the characters were complex with all kinds of motives and none was portrayed as pure good or pure evil, which is honestly pretty great in a play covering true history. I enjoyed myself and am looking forward to more of this true crime shit !!!

also, have y’all known that the heir to throne of France used to be called “dauphin�� after some dude who had a dolphin as his coat of arms? the more u know!