King John

The Arkangel Shakespeare is a project that intends to record, uncut, all of Shakespeare's plays. Their strategy seems to be to adopt straightforward, noncontroversial interpretations. If this approach risks seeming a bit matter of fact with the better-known plays, it pays off richly with less familiar works like King John, an early history that dramatizes the indecisive king's attempt to settle an alliance with France. The chief merits of this production are Michael Maloney's performance as the scheming bastard son of Richard I and the intrigues surrounding the death of young Arthur, claimant to the throne. One drawback is the production's overuse of birdsong as a background sound effect for outdoor scenes, a distraction that also turns up in Twelfth Night. The continual twitter eventually competes with the poetry for the listener's attention. G.H. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine