Lavenham Players present Much Ado.

The stage at Lavenham Hall

We knew when we received the ‘ration book’ tickets that the Lavenham Players’ production of Much Ado about Nothing was to be set during the Second World War.

This approach worked well, since the play is concerned about muddle and confusions that occur when soldiers return home from war.  I think that the audience soon got used to the fact that actors dressed in British servicemen’s uniforms were called names such as Don Pedro and Balthazar, and the backdrop of Lavenham made a more or less plausible Messina.

The quality of the production, by Annie Eddington, was very high.  I have seen less well done versions of this play on the professional stage.   

The work is not actually that easy to bring off successfully,  relying as it does on the clear delivery of the text. The key to Much Ado’s special attraction lies in its language, and the play is probably Shakespeare’s most extended worked example of his age’s passion for wordplay. The personalities of the two main characters, Benedick and Beatrice ( Paul Vella and Gemma Leggett) rely on their innate wit and argumentativeness, and it is the working out of their verbal duelling that forms much of the basis of the plot.  It was therefore wonderful that almost every word was crystal clear, a feat achieved by the first rate cast without losing the pace of the action.

The humour of the play was enhanced by elements of the production that might have come straight out of Dad’s Army, and the arrival of characters in an army jeep coming down the driveway added to the sense of realism.  Dogberry played by Cecil Qadir deserves special mention for his very comic performance.

All in all it was a great experience.  The weather was kind, it was a perfect evening to enjoy the lovely gardens of Lavenham Hall, and the picnic was much enhanced by the delicious ice cream on sale.

The Lavenham Players will be presenting Terence Rattigan’s Flarepath in the Autumn.