Review - Much Ado About Nothing

“Sigh not so, but let them go and be you blithe and bonny. Converting all your songs of woe, into hey nonny nonny!”

There has been great excitement ever since the announcement was made that David Tennant and Catherine Tate were set to play two of the principle characters in Shakespeare’s much loved comedy Much Ado About Nothing.  Now, currently showing in the West End, this show is playing to sell out audiences daily and judging by the reviews, the hype was well deserved and definitely not as the title of the play suggests, a fuss about nothing.

As this is by far my favourite Shakespeare play, I was determined to see for myself not only how well these two actors would portray their respective roles but how well this production would compare to the one starring Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh (film).

For anyone unfamiliar with the plot, it is perhaps one of the easiest plays to follow. The Prince, Don Pedro, recently reunited with his illegitimate brother Don John, returns from battle to Messina and is a guest at the house of his friend Leonato. One of Don Pedro’s company, Claudio is in love with Leonato’s daughter Hero and the prince agrees to help Claudio to win her hand. Don John, still embittered with his brother despite their recent reconciliation determines to ruin the plan and so convinces both Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero is not a virtuous woman. Claudio denounces Hero on their wedding day and refuses to marry her. Meanwhile Benedick, another of Don Pedro’s company continues his battle of wit and words with his old sparring partner Beatrice, the niece of Leonato. Unbeknownst to them, Don Pedro also plans to bring these two seemingly ill-matched people together – a Herculean labour indeed considering their past history towards one another. But, just like in any romantic comedy, all works out well in the end and we celebrate the wedding of not one, but two happy couples.

The attraction of this play for me is in the writing. It is full of clever witticisms, remarks and put downs that even put in a 20th century setting seem equally as funny and offensive as they would have done back in Shakespearean times.“ I would rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loved me!” or “Had he been a dog that would have howled thus, they would have hanged him!”

The play has everything you could want from it; a brilliant plot, great speeches and dialogue, your romantic couple, your villain – Don John, your fools - the constable and the guard duty, mistaken identity and of course a happy ending. Add to this the modern interpretation from this production, the music and dance routines and you have a play that entertains from start to finish!

David Tennant played an outstanding Benedick and owned the stage from the moment he drove onto it in his golf buggy. The delivery of his lines together with his expressions really captured the essence of his character and you were totally captivated by him every time he was on stage. He had great chemistry with the other cast members too particularly with Catherine Tate who played his nemesis / love interest Beatrice. Watching David play the role of Benedick it was as if the role had been written specifically with him in mind – he played to every emotion of the character, engaging with the audience and his fellow cast with even the slightest glance or gesture. He was fascinating to watch throughout the entire play.

Catherine Tate as previously mentioned played the role of Beatrice, and apart from a few occasions when I thought she sounded like some of her other characters from TV, portrayed the character wonderfully well . Not only did we see the feisty side of Beatrice, but in this production and through Catherine’s interpretation of the character, we see a more vulnerable, emotional and loving side.

There were also some strong performances from many of the supporting cast and I particularly enjoyed that of John Ramm as Dogberry whose most infamous line “Do not forget to specify masters when time and place shall serve, that I am an Ass!” had the audience in stitches. Also worthy of a mention were Sarah Macrae and Tom Bateman who played Hero and Claudio respectively  and who in making their West End and indeed professional debut in Tom’s case both gave outstanding performances and will definitely be ones to look out for in the future.

The entire production was from start to finish a breath of fresh air. There were many occasions when the audience literally erupted in laughter and the actors would have to time their lines well to allow for the audience to stop before they delivered their next dialogue. The music was cleverly arranged to include a few bars of well known songs from the 80’s set to the text of the play and this complimented the setting of the play. It was a joy to watch and the time certainly did not go “dully by us”. The enjoyment of both cast and audience was clear to see at the end as the delighted audience gave a full standing ovation to an appreciative cast.

Much Ado About Nothing is showing now at Wyndhams Theatre. For more information and to book tickets http://www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk/Tickets/MuchAdoAboutNothing.php