WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
King John, The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Director's cut Shakespeare sacrifices coherence for chaos
Attention seeking: Eleanor Rhode’s production of King John
[Steve Tanner] 
JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
ONE of Shakespeare’s less popular plays, King John has been described as the most satirical of his histories.
And, as the global scene politically increasingly resembles the goings-on in an exceptionally unruly school yard, Eleanor Rhode’s production attempts to capture that particular spirit of the times.
A radio newscast heralds the entry of Rosie Sherry’s tentative, childlike king. He’s like the first-comer to a kids’ party which is to turn into the bear garden disaster parents dread and the political power struggles at the heart of all Shakespeare’s histories is here played out as the ensuing action descends further into chaos.
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