Review of Bell's Much Ado about Nothing

Bell Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing  2019-07-07 reviewed by Frances, our president.

A group from the Shakespeare Club went last week to see the Bell Shakespeare production of Much Ado About Nothing.

I confess that I was not immediately captivated by it. The performance opened with a short section of the final scene of the play: the moment in Act V scene iv when Claudio agrees to marry (sight unseen) a veiled woman to replace the supposedly dead Hero, and then discovers that it is in fact Hero. Alas, I failed completely to grasp the point of starting in this back-to-front way, but all was made clear later, as the scenes from then on unfolded in the usual order.

The play is undeniably a comedy, and this production was determined to wrest from the script every last laugh. At first, grumpily, I felt the voices were too loud and the young men’s horseplay too adolescent, but their infectious good humour and energy, together with the fine comic skills of Duncan Ragg, as Benedick, soon won me over. Benedick showed excellent timing not only in the delivery of his lines but also in his address to the audience, with whom he built a lovely rapport.

Beatrice (Zindzi Okenyo) was a more thoughtful character, and gave indications of an earlier relationship and disappointment. Altogether her manner was rather mature for the youthful deportment of Benedick; I felt that she could have been given more opportunity to sparkle. For instance, in the famous gulling scenes (II iii and III i) Benedick had every chance to raise laughs, with many amusing hiding places. However the following scene, where Beatrice is similarly tricked, was disappointing in comparison. She remained seated downstage to one side, with no chance to show her responses fully. When alone at the end of the scene she did show a delighted shiver and hug as she skipped away, but I felt that she could have been given greater scope.

The riotous comedy gave way to a more serious theme with Claudio’s jilting and accusing Hero, leading to her collapse. The change of tone was carefully handled, and led to a sweet declaration of mutual love between Benedick and Beatrice when they were alone. It was unfortunate though that the audience could not quite take it sufficiently seriously, and laughed at Beatrice’s line: ‘Kill Claudio’. The production could have had greater depth by using the strength of Beatrice’s feelings. The dark side of the story might have provided more contrast with the lightness of the comedy.

Of course, speaking of comedy, the Watch make a major contribution to the humour of the play. What an extraordinary group they were! And credit must be given to the clever use of costume to disguise completely the fact that all four of them (in the Watch) were doubling with other characters. Dogberry, the constable, was played by Mandy Bishop, who also appeared as Balthazar and proved to be a charming singer in that role. As Dogberry she rode about on a child’s tiny scooter, in full biker’s outfit: boots, knee and elbow guards, and a helmet, and displayed an amazingly creative style of movement which reflected Dogberry’s sense of his own importance. We possibly lost some of this character’s delicious “malapropisms” (if that’s not too anachronistic a word), but his actions were wildly popular.

To return to the darker side for a moment: Don John needed to project a more sinister quality. The performance was full of cleverly inventive 'business' to show character, but to have Don John show his nasty side by going through the luggage of the arriving soldiers, and pilfering what looked like a piece of underwear, did not reflect the level of his malign spirit.

Leonato (David Whitney) was a convivial host and anchored the scenes with the young men. His shocking lack of loyalty to his daughter, after Claudio’s accusations, was made believable, as was his restored bonhomie at the end. Equally, Antonio (apparently Leonato’s sister despite the name, played by Suzanne Pereira) presented a quietly reliable support in the whirl of events.

It is a credit to the performers that they made the rather convoluted plot quite clear to the audience. I overheard near me a young woman, who obviously did not know the story, gasping with amused relief when she suddenly saw how it would all be resolved.

And so we came to the final scene, and to the section which we had seen at the beginning. The young women entered, Claudio spoke the required words, and Hero unveiled. But here the script was slightly altered. Deviating from the original, in recognition of our 21^st century sensitivities, Hero gave Claudio a stinging slap on his face, and then refused to complete the sentence which ends “I am a maid.” Indeed, she then walked away from him, and sat looking extremely miserable. It was clear that this time they would have no happy ever afters.

It was as well that we had the last few exchanges in their 'skirmishes of wit' between Benedick and Beatrice to lighten the mood before the play ended with a delightful song, with the words of Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds. I think everyone left the theatre with a smile.

CREATIVE TEAM
By William Shakespeare
Director James Evans
Designer Pip Runciman
Lighting Designer Niklas Pajanti
Composer & Sound Designer Andrée Greenwell
Movement & Fight Director Nigel Poulton
Voice & Text Coach Jess Chambers

WITH
Zindzi Okenyo
Vivienne Awosoga
Danny Ball
Marissa Bennett
Mandy Bishop
Will McDonald
Suzanne Pereira
Duncan Ragg
Paul Reichstein
David Whitney