Another fantastic Shakespearean production is currently showing at the Theatre Royal, Bury St. Edmunds.
Much Ado about Nothing is probably Shakespeare’s lightest comedy, full of wordplay and hidden meanings. The play can be almost incomprehensible when the actors don’t really understand what they are saying, or if they swallow their lines. This certainly is not the case in this Theatre Royal production which is brilliantly well acted and which continues a tradition of fine Shakespearean shows in Bury over the years.
The story of Benedick and Beatrice, and how their antipathy to the married state is overcome, is one of Shakespeare’s best in my view. Little of the content of the play is dull or over- serious, and there is a lot of scope in the text for song and dance, the musical interventions being very well handled here. In this production the action of the play is shifted from 16th century Sicily to 18th century England, which works well, and fits in with the ambience of the early 19th Century Theatre Royal. The play is directed with a great deal of attention to detail and sensitivity by Abigail Anderson, whose Merchant of Venice last year attracted great critical acclaim.
The Theatre Royal is now running its plays for two weeks or so, and as a result there is plenty of time for you to buy a ticket. The last performance is not until 26th February.
Do go along! I promise you will enjoy it.
