King John

King John runs from 20 February to 11 April 2027 at The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, the indoor Jacobean theatre that opened in 2014 as part of Shakespeare's Globe on Bankside. It's one of Shakespeare's deepest-cut history plays, written in the mid-1590s and not printed until the First Folio of 1623. It's been staged little in the modern era, owing to an odd mix of pageantry, convoluted politicking and a subject that fell out of fashion after the Victorians staged it frequently; the Globe has tackled it only once before.

The play follows John, son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, who takes the crown when his elder brother Richard the Lionheart dies and spends the play trying to keep it, while his nephew Arthur of Brittany contests the claim alongside the King of France and a papal legate. Philip the Bastard, Richard's natural son, is the play's most memorable voice. The production is staged in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, lit by candlelight, and marks the company's Wanamaker debut as well as the Globe directorial debut of Olivier nominee Jaz Woodcock-Stewart, whose history of imaginative lo-fi work suggests a quirky approach to royal pomp.

Gallery seating is £89–£29 and standing is £10–£5, with a £3 per-order transaction fee and a £1 per-ticket restoration levy on top. The Playhouse is at 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London SE1 9DT.