LOVE’S LABOURS WON / MUCH ADO ABOUT
NOTHING
By William Shakespeare
Royal Shakespeare Company
Stratford-upon Avon until 4 March 2015
There is so much that is joyous about the Gregory Doran’s new production of Much Ado about Nothing.
Titled Love’s Labours Won, it serves as a companion piece to Love’s Labours Lost in the current repertoire marking the centenary of WWI.
As the two contrasting titles suggest, this is the more upbeat of the pair. Where LLL ends with the outbreak of war and the uncertainty of love in the face of death, LLW starts with war over and the soldiers’ return. The music for this production reflects the era: very Ivor Novello, venturing into Charleston. The set is based on the frontage of Charlecote Park, a National Trust house near Stratford, and the opening scene depicts a grand country house lent a new purpose as a hospital for the war-wounded.
Two sets of lies
The play follows two courtships, one set fair between the gentle Claudio and shy Hero, the other an apparent non-starter with the sparring and bickering and point-scoring venom displayed by Beatrice and Benedick. Malicious lies all but ruin the former relationship, while well-meaning lies melt the habitual hostility between B and B. Once the one is persuaded of the love of the other, they lay down their arms. The self-protective walls we build around ourselves can be breached by love. It is this latter relationship which showcases the Bard’s extraordinary talent for witty repartee as the two protagonists perform their delicate courtship dance.
Once again the RSC proves that Shakespeare is for the stage rather than the page as the superb cast and direction call from the audience a range of emotions, but especially, mirth. The finely choreographed scene between the policemen and Conrad and Borachio is the most delicious slapstick worthy of the Keystone Cops; Benedick’s ridiculous Christmas–tree eavesdropping is up there with Bertie Wooster; and Dogberry’s malapropisms, two centuries before Mrs Malaprop, are wonderfully delivered. One can only marvel at Shakespeare’s breathtaking skill. But behind the humour there some ideas to ponder. If Leonato had only had the patience to listen to Dogberry’s rambling concerns, Hero would have been spared Claudio’s cruel rejection; if Beatrice and Benedick could lose some of their attitude, they would have discovered a space in which to love each other.
Most of all the play is a celebration of matrimony. After all the storms and woes, the final reunion of Benedick and Beatrice is summed up in the beautifully spoken heartfelt words to his Beatrice, ‘Serve God, love me and mend.’ Good advice from England’s greatest poet and playwright. Hey, nonny nonny.
