Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, is generally considered one of the bard’s best comedies, and because it deals in mistaken identities, love, humour, alongside more serious themes of honour, shame, and courtship, it delivers a delightful evening of plot twists and comic confusions; all the ingredients for for a great night at the theatre.The Royal Shakespeare Company will be resident at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until the 18 March 2017 and I thoroughly recommend you pay them a visit, this comedy of sparring lovers really charmed me.
The beginning felt a little rushed but things soon settled down and I was able to relish the story of Beatrice and Benedict, two opinionated old pals who are nudged into becoming lovers by the intervention of their friends. It's not all sunshine however, in a sub plot a scheming lord tries to wreck the marriage of a younger couple by spreading vile rumours. It takes all Beatrice and Benedict's wit to resolve the situation.
There are outstanding comic performances by Edward Bennett and Nick Haverson
The pervading mood however is of comic mayhem and there are outstanding comic performances by Edward Bennett and Nick Haverson. I loved all the slapstick especially a silly curtain joke and a mischievous Christmas Tree!
Scenes flow swiftly and easily together on Simon Higlett's gorgeous country house set and the director, Christopher Luscombe, creates some beautiful pictures with his staging. Other highlights include Harry Waller's uplifting rendition of the song ‘Sigh No More’ with Shakespeare's lyrics set to a lovely tune by Nigel Hess and the curtain call dance was a lot of fun.
I loved this version of Much Ado About Nothing or Love’s Labour’s Won. With its Christmasy scenes it's a perfect way to say goodbye to the festive season and lighten the winter blues.
Based on the best-selling novel by Khaled Hasseini, this Nottingham Playhouse production of The Kite Runner comes 13 years after the original book and 9 years after the film-adaptation — both of which were huge successes in their own right. Hasseini’s extraordinary, darkly beautiful, shocking story is one that should be enjoyed with as little pre-tense as possible so it’s important to speak sparingly about the plot.