• Advertise
  • Request Review
  • Write for Us
  • Privacy
  • Login

Theatre Bubble

The UK Theatre Network

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Opinions
  • Interviews
  • Guides

Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe

July 20, 2017 by Alex Wood Leave a Comment

Review of: Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare's Globe
Price:
Yard £5 | Gallery £20 – £45

Reviewed by: Alex Wood
Rating:
4
On July 20, 2017
Last modified:July 20, 2017

Summary:

A bombastic and superb delivery from Matthew Dunster, vying for the best outdoor experience of the summer.

More Details

There’s a point in Much Ado about a third of a way through the show that you know that director Matthew Dunster has pulled it off – decisively and brilliantly coupling Shakespeare with the early 20th century Mexican Revolution. As the masked flamenco dies down and Claudio’s betrothal arrives, the path to the final act feels neat, form-fitted. In retrospect it must be admitted that the match seemed as hard to pull off as that of the two central protagonists, yet nevertheless the show works with a euphoric glee, coasting through Shakespeare’s comedy with a breezy ease, lacing the text with newfound pertinence while able to glibly infuse it with more contemporary humour where necessary.

Credit must, first and foremost, go to the central performances from Beatriz Romilly and Matthew Needham, deftly constructing an innate chemistry while also trading the Bard’s famed barbs with wanton abandon. Though Needham’s Benedick certainly won out on the comedic front, it was Romilly’s nuanced sincerity, her barely restrained rage and overall construction of character that made for one of the most compelling Beatrices of recent memory.

Neither could have worked so fantastically without the framework that Dunster creates however, one ready to amplify and qualify Shakespeare’s passionate text, where men, nay, revolutionaries, are as quick to romance as they are to anger. We see the ugly side to Don Pedro’s honour, the patriarchal abandonment of Leonato, just as we feel Hero’s anguish in being so publicly scorned. The surface emotion is, in this context, legitimised.

An inspired choice from Dunster therefore, but one that could only work with completely cohesion among the creative team – the puppetry was a fantastic touch, characters sometimes both symbolically and physically sat atop their high horses in judgement. The naturalism of these stallions, down to the characteristic stomping of hooves, was sublime. Music from James Maloney equally suffused the show with emotional pangs and consistent rhythm, a carnival for the senses to match the turbulence of the narrative. Set design, predominantly in the form of a hulking rail wagon, was a nicely versatile choice, Anna Fleischle transforming the Globe’s stage into a vast, liminal, space, either in the midst of or recently finishing a long journey.

And this was a dangerous production at that – guns brandished, friends threatening one another – the martial context is rarely forgotten when characters wear sashes and keep their bolsters close. A Mexico in flux, still in the midst of a tempestuous birth.

The decision to transform Don Juan into Don Juana equally makes a startling amount of sense for any production of Much Ado – a two dimensional vilified figure now scorned and resentful of the fact that she, by her very nature (‘I cannot hide what I am’), is restrained:

‘I am trusted with a muzzle and enfranchised with a clog; therefore I  have decreed not to sing in my cage.’

It almost feels too perfect to work – a shame therefore that Shakespeare has the character whisked away into invisibility for the final act.

The play had a few teething issues – the use of regional accents could at times feel slightly forced, while the miscommunication gag between English and American dialects wore slightly thin by the fourth or fifth scene.

But this Much Ado ends with a politically pertinent punch, a defiant exclamation – Mexico is as legitimate a place for Shakespeare as anywhere else, and its history and stories should always be told. Hopefully a few specific Americans could learn a thing or two from this green white and red defiance. If this is the performance to round of Emma Rice’s Summer of Love (and her tenure at the Globe’s outdoor space) come October, it is a wonderful closing instalment.

Author: Alex WoodAlex is the former reviews editor at Theatre Bubble, but since changing position now contributes occasionally. He has been writing reviews for a number of years, as well as seeing his own shows performed. He has produced and marketed a number of performances at venues in London, Oxford, Edinburgh, including the world premiere of Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke.

Filed Under: Featured, Review

Join the discussion Cancel reply

NEWS / ZU-UK presents Radio Ghost

ZU-UK presents Radio Ghost, a walking game for three participants journeying through a haunted shopping mall. Premiering at LIFT Festival [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Sophie Leydon on Rapture at Pleasance London

Sophie Leydon (She/Her) is a Writer and Director whose practice centres staging LGBTQIA+ experience through interdisciplinary forms. She tells us [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Claire Cunningham talks 4 Legs Good in BE festival

Garden State (8 – 11 June) is an art installation made up of hundreds of houseplants lent by local residents [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Paul Bourne talks about Bliss at the Finborough Theatre

Written by Fraser Grace (Breakfast with Mugabe, RSC), Bliss is based on a short story by censored writer Andrey Platonov. It’s at Finborough [Read More]

NEWS / Japanese Romeo and Juliet to the songs of Queen announced

Coming to Sadler’s Wells in September as part of its world tour, A Night At The Kabuki is a retelling [Read More]

Top Posts & Pages

  • Writing the Perfect Press Release
  • UK Tour of the Sex Worker's Opera announced
  • 10 Tips to Help You Prepare for Your Reality TV Auditions
  • 5 Stage Elements to Consider for a Rousing Theatrical Production
  • Cast and Creative team announced for Six the Musical
  • Katy Owen: LAMDA Audition (First Round)
  • Japanese Romeo and Juliet to the songs of Queen announced
  • Sophie Leydon on Rapture at Pleasance London
  • ZU-UK presents Radio Ghost
  • Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School at the Phoenix Arts Club
  • Alex Wood
    Contributor

  • July 20th, 2017
  • comment iconNo Comments
  • FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail

    Newsletter

    Enjoyed what you've read? Get even more great content directly to your inbox - Completely Free

    About Theatre Bubble

    Theatre Bubble is the news, review and blogging site created by Blue Pie Media and run by a dedicated team of outstanding editors and writers: we're always looking for new contributors - to find out more click here.

    Contact Us

    News: news@theatrebubble.com
    Reviews: reviews@theatrebubble.com
    Website: webmaster@theatrebubble.com

    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2022 · Blue Pie Media

     

    Loading Comments...
     

      Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

      Email sent!