Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing is believed to have been written by William Shakespeare in 1598 and 1599 and tells the tale of Benedick and Beatrice who confess their love for each other after being fooled by their peers. Meanwhile Claudio is also tricked but this time into rejecting Hero under the belief that she was unfaithful to him. But, to quote another of. the greats, All’s well that ends well for the two couples.

The play was set in Mexico during the Autumn season featuring links to the day of the dead celebrations. The stage set was minimal and consisted of several large fixed pieces including a Villa styled veranda and doorway stage right and a garden trellis stage left. On entering the auditorium, the audience were greeted by ambient music to help set the scene and the location for this performance.

There were some particularly noteworthy performances such as Senor Leonato, Benedick and Beatrice who gave a performance which was clear and believable. Claudio was a performer that was new to the group and gave a strong, convincing performance. There were confident performances from Hero and the performers playing the two police officers provided heaps of comedy in their scenes with some excellent physicality.

The scene in which Benedick and Beatrice overhear one another having conversations with their friends was cleverly done and their reactions throughout were hilariously funny.

It was particularly pleasing to have some live music performance included during the production played very ably on the guitar. This added another dimension to the piece and fits beautifully with how many believe Shakespeare would have been performed traditionally through the inclusion of music. I have seen productions at the Globe and music has been a focal point and so the inclusion here was well considered

This production was well done. Connections were made to the current season and the director and the production team should be pleased with the results.  

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