In the performing arts, timing is everything. If The Royal Shakespeare Company’s version of “Coriolanus,” with its striking direction, impressive sets, impeccable acting, and powerful leading man, had turned up at the Kennedy Center at any other time, it would have been a major highlight of the theatrical season.

Instead, it had the bum luck to show up at the tail-end of the Shakespeare in Washington festival; a festival that has proven that it is possible to have too much of a good thing. As a result, despite how accomplished this “Coriolanus” is, it still has a kind of “been there, done that” feel to it, which is a shame because, if nothing else, this presentation shows that, when it comes to performing Shakespeare, nobody does it with the authority and self-assurance of the Brits.