Review

“I thought it was a fabulous show. I loved the adaptation and felt you had done amazingly in getting all the power of the Shakespeare play into such a short length and reduced cast. The Beatrice/Benedict 'Kill Claudio' sequence was really moving. It was wonderful to see Much Ado as a real ensemble show and there were so many lovely touches, such as the way in which you had expanded Margaret's onstage involvement and had managed to eliminate Dogberry and Verges without losing D's key speech - it worked really well for Borachio. The music throughout was brilliantly performed and I loved the song choices. The jazz club setting worked really well, especially in the Brewery (which is a fabulous space!) and the lighting was really atmospheric. I always love theatre in the round. I thought you were both great in your roles (would have loved to have seen more of Don John, but that was Shakespeare's fault, not yours!) and the other cast were really strong too, with Hero and Beatrice exceptional. They both have amazing stage presence, as has your Borachio - and all three had great control and stillness and a great mastery of the Shakespearean language. A wonderful evening.”

Clare Smout