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Much Ado About Nothing

Wilton’s Music Hall

Reviewed – 13th November 2019

★★★★

“Reaching inventive new heights without pretension, this production feels fresh, striving to relate to its audience”

Love is a fickle old thing that can make a person crazy. It can drive wedges between friendships and cause chaos all around it. In an exciting new adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, presented by Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory, such effects of love are all on display. Razor-sharp in delivery, this intelligent retelling is as joyously entertaining as it is thought-provoking.

A group of soldiers are on leave from war, and accept the invite of staying with Leonato, the Governor of Messina, and his family, for a few days. What ensues is a gush of mixed emotions as the heady concoction of civilian life, falling in and out of love, and trickery befalls on the party.

Director Elizabeth Freestone has done a tremendous job in finding some original ways of reimagining Much Ado, giving it fresh meaning. The use of filming from phones is an ingenious take on the original text. It firmly places the story in 2019, giving the play a chance to explore current issues such as fake news, online trolling and abuse through social media, which completely works. It makes the premise seem far more plausible for a 21st century audience, and proves that a 400-year old text still has relevance. The hilarious use of fancy dress (I won’t give away the costume theme) during the integral masked ball, is another moment of modernisation that Freestone has so brilliantly encompassed. Despite perhaps being used in other recent Shakespeare adaptations, the fancy dress concept is still clever and highly jubilant.

There’s an electric energy between Dorothea Myer-Bennett and Geoffrey Lumb as the conflicting lovers Beatrice and Benedick, both actors making the witty put downs towards one another fizz and crackle. Myer-Bennett in particular is on plucky form, doing complete justice to arguably Shakespeare’s best written female role. The whole cast should be applauded for really making the text their own, never shying away from originality or the unconventional, yet always making sure it is rooted in truth.

Freestone reveals that she aims for a 50/50 gender balance in her productions meaning gender-blind casting for some of the roles. Here, the melancholy meddler and villain of the show Don Jon, and the jobs-worth constable Dogberry have been given to female actors (Georgia Frost and Louise Mai Newberry) which fits naturally. As women are holding higher positions within the workplace and many more joining military forces, Freestone’s decision reflects this justly. Both actors revel in their parts, Frost bringing a jealous capriciousness, and Newberry an irresistible sass.

Music, as always with Shakespeare, plays a big part. Not only is it used in this production for transitions or decorative embellishment, but entwined within the story, utilised for comic effect and the like. Bethan Mary-James as likeable Margaret, the singer and waiting lady to Hero, is congenitally attached to a ukulele, who strums away to the annoyance or delight of the other characters.

Much Ado is heralded a comedy, but this recent offering from the Tobacco Factory really highlights the surprisingly darker, more tragic elements to the tale. Creating a much needed juxtaposition from the laughs and tomfoolery, the characters go on a believable roller coaster ride of emotions. Reaching inventive new heights without pretension, this production feels fresh, striving to relate to its audience.

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by Mark Douet

Much Ado About Nothing

Wilton’s Music Hall until 23rd November

Previously reviewed at this venue:

The Box of Delights | ★★★★ | December 2018

Dad’s Army Radio Hour | ★★★★ | January 2019

The Good, The Bad And The Fifty | ★★★★ | February 2019

The Pirates Of Penzance | ★★★★ | February 2019

The Shape Of the Pain | ★★★★★ | March 2019

The Talented Mr Ripley | ★★★★ | May 2019

The Sweet Science Of Bruising | ★★★★ | June 2019

Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story | ★★★★★ | September 2019

This Is Not Right | ★★★★ | October 2019

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★★★

“on paper this updating is fascinating and makes utter sense, but poor exposition and some wishy-washy playing has a distancing effect”

The inspiration for Kelly Wilson’s 21st century vision for Much Ado is her discovery of ‘noting’, the Elizabethans’ version of messaging apps. The term relates not only to the exchange of notes but also the rumours and confusions that follow, explaining why they make such effective devices in Shakespeare’s comedies. The production can be followed on Facebook simultaneously, allowing the audience to scroll through and comment on developments in real time, and much of the on-stage interactions and revelations are conducted through smartphones.

Other innovations include the use of projections to set the scene, display Skype calls, Facebook posts and the sharing of video footage between the characters, all of which enliven as well as modernise. The action and some of the language is bumped to the modern era too, with characters Pedro, Benedick and Claudio returning from Afghanistan to let off steam, indulge their need for horse-play and falling in love. Ruthless editing means that Dogberry is written out altogether and the original Don John character is streamlined into Joan Don, a mean-spirited hacker with fewer lines and less motivation.

So far, though, so good. However, what promises to be an energetically re-imagined, intellectually ingenious and technically multidimensional version of this enjoyable classic sags in some unexpected places. Six original songs (Alex Loveless, Scott Howland) are signalled in the programmes, but their Disneyesque reality cheapens rather than heightens the play’s sweeping emotions, not helped by the patchy singing skills available.

The Cockpit’s generous stage-area becomes a handicap rather than a canvas for the choreography (Darren Royston) and the generally underpowered performances couldn’t quite live up to the production’s brilliant ambition.

Fortunately, the wittily-written love match between Benedick and Beatrice is distinctively delivered by Gunnar DeYoung and Tamsin Lynes. Joanna Clarke stands out for her steely Joan Nicola Don, despite the slighter role. But while there are many other details and talents to impress, it’s telling that most were non-acting. The digital design by Zsara Jaeger is beautifully observed, detailed and plausible, projections are well deployed by Liz Leeman and the overall effect is smart and coherent.

So, on paper this updating is fascinating and makes utter sense, but poor exposition and some wishy-washy playing has a distancing effect. Moral: too much social media spoils the appreciation of what’s in front of you.

Reviewed by Dominic Gettins

Photography by Laura Dorn