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Antic Disposition
Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare
Directed by John Risebero & Ben Horslen
St. Stephen’s Church, Hampstead
24 June -19 July 2009
A review by Samuel John for EXTRA! EXTRA!
It’s the end of the Second World War and summer is upon us. The colossal interior of the newly restored St. Stephen’s is a country estate in South West France to be descended upon imminently by victorious soldiers. Evening sunlight streams through the stain glass windows and sirens echo from the road. This is not period Bard on a proscenium stage, but a site specific performance hoping to draw upon the parallels of another time. Various thematic aspects translate to the period well, such as the glory of the homecoming and preceding abstinence driving a thirst for love. Some Elizabethan values however, inserted into the social context of post-war France raise questions. The programme states that in 1945: ‘not all women were content to revert to the traditional, passive roles of dutiful wife’ yet it is the total powerlessness of women in their own affairs which drives Much Ado About Nothing, the headstrong Beatrice the exception. Hero is arranged to be married by Leonarto and Don Pedro without her knowledge or consent, having only flirted with the drippy Claudio briefly at the masked party. The ensuing dreadful accusations and treatment thrown her way smack of a society entrenched with far more antiquated levels of gender inequality. There are a few elements which lack historic continuity such as the masked ball complete with Commedia del Arte masks and 17th Century Court dancing. This is excused however as it is both well executed and fundamental to the succeeding mistaken identity. Anouke Brook’s glorious gravelly and deadpan Beatrice is in stark contrast to an original but at times overly camp and mechanical Ashley Cook as Benedick. Beatrice’s masculinity seems almost to counteract Benedick’s femininity. He replaces quirky wit with Sex and the City style bitchiness and at times fails to give full weighting and measured pace to his ingeniously written rants. The break-neck speed at which the most notorious comic scenes were performed was at times their downfall. For one of Shakespeare’s most uplifting and frothy comedies, laughs were fairly thin on the ground, symptomatic perhaps of the cavernous space and traverse staging forcing a self-conscious and muted audience reaction. Despite this, the actors clear diction and projection aptly fills the void.
The ensemble yield some strong performances, Robert French’s Leonarto is an exhausted yet caring Patriarch and James Hutchinson’s Don Pedro a calm and altruistic presence. Bethany Minelle’s Hero and Sophie Cosson’s Margret deliver delicate expressions portraying hapless vulnerability. Jonathan Pembroke mediates with reason as Friar Francis and although a skilled comic actor, as Dogberry, lacks some of the traditional buffoonery which informs his idiocy. The most riotous moments come from the farcical eavesdropping scenes, most notably where Benedick attempts to conceal himself in vain from the match-making plotters. Rather than pretend not to see him, they actively go about making his task of evasion more difficult, sitting on the table which he is being crushed beneath. It is during moments of physical direction such as this that the pairing of John Riseboro and Ben Horslen do best. Although a highly impressive space, St. Stephen’s lent itself more to the darker and ecclesiastical scenes than the lighter ones, which would be more at home in an al fresco setting. Benedick looses his temper with Beatrice once again at the end of the climactic jig, shunning the resolve of a soppy ending, acknowledging refreshingly that this brand of tempestuous love is all too familiar to most.
Tuesday – Saturday 7.30pm St. Stephen’s, Rosslyn Hill Box Office 0871 230 5540 Tickets: £16/£14
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