 | Much Ado About Nothing |  |
"What, my dear Lady Disdain! are you yet living?" Act I, scene i
Written: 1599
Lord Chamberlain’s Men ; July 2, 2008 Cardiff, Wales
Director : Andrew Normington ; Starring :
Reviewed on : 2008-07-17 10:07:16 ; Reviewed by : Helen Prior
| In a fortnight of appalling wet weather I was concerned that the rain might attempt to ruin another of the Bard’s outdoor performances, but thankfully the sun broke through the clouds and the evening provided a lovely summery background to a very enjoyable production of my favourite play, Much Ado About Nothing. In fact the Cardiff sunshine became so lovely that it provided one of my only criticisms of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men production. The unfortunate positioning of the stage, although fitting in nicely with the backdrop of Cardiff Castle, meant that the sun shone right above it, and blinded a good number of the audience who were clearly expecting it to be overcast. For me it meant I couldn’t focus properly on a few of the scenes as I was either squinting, or shielding my eyes.
The production was Shakespeare as it was in its heyday. Combining an all male line-up, well chosen traditional songs, Elizabethan style costumes, a strict adhesion to the script, and a small stage in Tudor style, you could easily see the cast treading the boards back when the play was first staged. I did wonder if those seeing the play for the first time would find it a little hard to follow in places because of the traditionalism, however the acting quality of all the cast involved conveyed the emotions and meaning of each scene so that even if newcomers were lost in the words they would still understand what was going on. I think the cast should also be praised for making themselves heard without much signs of effort over the noise of the occasional sirens and a helicopter flying overhead.
Although neither of them were particularly feminine to look at both Nick Huntingdon (Beatrice) and Andrew Young (Hero) were convincing in the female lead roles. When they switched to playing male characters – due to the small cast all doubling up on roles – the change in their demeanour was pleasantly surprising, especially in the case of Andrew Young going from playing the naïve and innocent Hero to the overconfident and cocky Borachio.
Having seen the play a number of times I also appreciated finding Don John (Peter Stickney) played in a different way to other portrayals. Still of small words in the presence of the Prince, he was more shouty and stompy when with his own fellows. His anger at his position came across perhaps more clearly then simply playing him as just a scheming villain and I thought this enhanced the production and made the character more hated for the part he played in the sullying of Hero and Claudio’s (Tom Micklem) wedding day. Stickney’s complete change of character when playing Dogberry is also a tribute to his acting ability, going from angry villain to the high comedy of the fool with ease.
A high point for me was Tom Micklem’s Claudio, every bit as naïve and easily led as the young lover should be, when he sang a beautiful song at Hero’s tomb. You could hear and see the emotion he felt at Hero’s supposed loss and it was genuinely heartbreaking, more so framed in the twilight and in front of the stone of the castle.
The relationship between Beatrice (Nick Huntingdon) and Benedick (Edward Harrison) I’ve found can be done in one of two ways: firstly the idea that the two of them have some history and for some reason ended up apart rather than together and in an attempt to guard their hearts they end up bickering. Secondly there is the idea that they are so taken up with behaving as they are perceived, that they genuinely don’t realise their affection for the other until it is pointed out to them by the well meaning Don Pedro (David Hughes) and friends. In realising the true affection they have for each other they effectively “grow up”. It was this second approach that was utilised in this production and Edward Harrison was a joy to behold in his going from a devil-may-care man about town to a resolute man willing to fight with his sworn comrade in the defence of Beatrice’s feelings. I felt that Harrison carried a good number of the scenes he was in, and I do not mean this as a criticism to the rest of the cast, but simply that his presence did dominate the stage and it was far easier to identify with him than some of the other characters.
A good and traditional production of a fantastic play which perhaps could only have been improved by having a few more member of the cast so that less doubling up and scene alteration to accommodate that fact needed to happen. Shakespeare at its finest and I look forward to being able to see The Lord Chamberlain’s Men again.
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Sir John Gilbert, R.A.,
Beatrice and Benedick
Reviews
|  | Royal Shakespeare Company
November 3, 2009 |  | British Shakespeare Company
July 31, 2009 |  | OVO at The Maltings Arts Theatre
June 25, 2009 |  | Regents Park Open Air Theatre
June 1, 2009 |  | Lord Chamberlain’s Men
July 2, 2008 |  | Stadttheater Bern
April 12, 2008 |  | Wide Eyed Productions
March 2, 2008 |  | Redshift Theatre at UH Arts
October 17, 2007 | | Pirate Utopia
November 15, 2006 |  | Stratford Festival of Canada
August 3, 2006 |  | Royal Shakespeare Company
May 22, 2006 |  | Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
December 19, 2005 |  | BBC TV
November 7, 2005 |  | Signal Ensemble Theatre
August 23, 2003 |  | Spandauer Sommerfestspiele
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