Stream: Much Ado About Nothing
This lavish offer by the RSC at Stratford follows in a long line of productions of one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies. Based on a traditional Italian play, written in 1598/9, it was the opening production of the Memorial Theatre at Stratford upon Avon in 1879. It was the Jubilee production of 1929 and over the years featured nearly every member of theatrical royalty. Branagh made a successful film version in 1993 with a cast of Hollywood stars, and it remains in the repertoire of theatre companies worldwide.
A merry tale of eavesdropping, the key protagonists are the warring couple of Benedick and Beatrice, a gift for actors to demonstrate their ability to tackle the witty ripostes and technical challenges set them by the Bard. There are hapless lovers, Hero and Claudio, comical local folk, Dogberry and Verges (included, one suspects, for popular Elizabethan star Will Kemp) all set in the court of an imagined Italian court. Something for everyone.
Directors have often sought to vary it by changing the setting and the period. This production directed by Christopher Luscombe takes place in a post WW1 house party with soldiers returning home from the trenches. Glasses tinkle, the piano plays and nurses and maids scatter around. Regrettably, the atmosphere seems to weigh down on the mirth and charm which the play should engender. The rigid uniforms, female attitudes of the times, pompous whisky drinking do not serve the show well. This is evident in the mask scene where the artifice of the plot become unbelievable. Michelle Terry (now director of Shakespeare’s Globe) was strangely static, forced to sit on a settee much of the time. She is an accomplished physical actress, wasted here. Edward Bennett worked hard to give Benedick life but was physically constrained by period and the uniform. He worked hard hiding behind the huge Christmas tree but unfortunately this has been done many times and better by Mrs Brown on the popular Saturday night shows. It barely raised a titter.
I am at a loss to understand why so many professional and amateur companies stage Shakespeare comedies in modern military uniform. Shakespeare’s work rises above formal settings. The RSC certainly splashed out on a flashy set, but I got the feeling I was watching a touring Agatha Christie, or a dining room comedy complete with the drinks trolley and frilly aproned maids.
Whilst the text and plot were clear, the scene changes immaculate, the musical interludes pleasant, this production became, dare I say, boring. It lacked lightness and charm and proved a good chance to doze in the armchair.
Streaming now on BBC iPlayer.
