It's time for my review of Much Ado About Nothing.Having not actually made any formal plans for my weekend, I decided to take a spontaneous theatre trip to the Rose Theatre in Kingston to see the Shakespeare classic: Much Ado About Nothing. I had intended to see a production of Much Ado About Nothing back in December 2016, but sadly I had never gotten around to it and ended up missing it. Luckily, a year and a half later, I was once again given the opportunity to see it.
The action of Much Ado About Nothing takes place over the course of several days, when a man known as Don Pedro arrives with his followers to the estate that is owned by his dear friend, Leonato. Don Pedro has been victorious in a fight against his own half-brother, Don John, who has now reluctantly agreed to join forces with him. The director of the piece has chosen to go for a modern take on it, setting the play in Sicily, Italy. As opposed to being soldiers fighting in a war, the characters have been transformed into Italian mafia members. I often critique modern takes on Shakespeare, as in a large number of cases I find that they simply do not work. However, I am thrilled to say that, in this case, the decision to modernise the production worked brilliantly and the idea was in fact ingenious. I imagine that it is a fairly big risk to chase an ambitious idea such as this one, but I am confident that it has paid off. The introduction of these new themes into Shakespeare's work has helped to heighten the darker elements of the play. It provides an interesting and new perspective of Much Ado About Nothing that may have previously not been seen. Considering that, as of late, I have criticised modern retellings of Shakespeare, it was fantastic to have been proved wrong. The direction and staging, which has been done by Simon Dormandy, was, without a doubt, a highlight of the entire production. Dormandy has done wonders with this piece; it is truly one of the best directed pieces of Shakespeare that I have ever seen.
The cast of Much Ado About Nothing is led by Mel Giedroyc in the role of Beatrice, known to many as being part of the comedy duo 'Mel and Sue'. Giedroyc excels in the role, with utterly hilarious facial expressions throughout. By her side is John Hopkins, in the role of her enemy and potential new friend, Benedick. Hopkins is outstanding in this role, and was hysterically funny. Giedroyc and Hopkins make an absolutely phenomenal double act. Additionally, two other cast members that stood out were Peter Guinness in the role of Don Pedro and David Rintoul in the role of Leonato. Guinness provides an extraordinary believable and naturalistic performance, whilst Rintoul is extremely funny, giving an all-round brilliant performance.
The set design, which has been created by Naomi Dawson, is marvellous. It was extremely detailed, being exactly how I would have imagined an Italian spa to look like. It was clear that a vast amount of effort had been put into it. The costume design was, for the most part, outstanding. The costumes which particularly stood out were the one's used for the party scene, in which we see the characters dress up as pop-culture figures such as 'Batman' and 'The Hulk'. My only criticism for the costume design is that I was not too sure on the costumes used for the police, as I was left somewhat puzzled as to what the purpose of them had been. The additional music that has been added to this production, which includes both pre-recorded and live music, worked tremendously well. This music helped to create the perfect atmosphere for the play.
The featured star of Much Ado About Nothing is, drum roll please... JOHN HOPKINS!
The decision for featured star was a fairly difficult choice between Mel Giedroyc and John Hopkins, however I eventually chose to award John Hopkins with the title of featured star. This production of Much Ado About Nothing was a perfect opportunity to show off Hopkins' strength as an actor. He was utterly hilarious and had me in stitches during numerous scenes.
Now for my final verdict on Much Ado About Nothing. I give Much Ado About Nothing...
I was wondering as to whether I should give Much Ado About Nothing three or four stars, but I decided that ultimately, the ingenious decisions taken with this production have made it worthy for a four star rating.
Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.
-The Reviewer
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