ABOUT THE PLAY
Download the script as cut for performance (PDF)
Much Ado… is one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies. It weaves a broad tapestry of human emotions - love (of course) and romance, enmity and revenge, bravado and cowardice. It delivers comedy and drama, poetry and prose, disguised identities, deceits, intrigues, wit and wooing. If only there was a pair of twins, you'd have the complete Shakespeare comedic kit.
Its reputation is very much the story of the comic and seemingly almost-accidental wooing of Beatrice and Benedick. Though who woos who is anyone's guess. But alongside the romance, the forces of honour and reputation, the bitterness of a defeated foe and the excesses of lust provide dark threads that add contrast and substance to the fabric of the play.
That is the appeal of the play for me - being able to move from the giddiness of young love, through the cynicism of middle years, to matters of life and death. There is something in this play for everyone, and something for every kind of actor. There is a good range of parts for all ages, strong women's parts as written, with a number suitable for cross-casting.
There have been many celebrated productions of this comedy, and in relatively recent years successful films too. But forget those. I'll be looking to put together a company that will embrace Much Ado as an ensemble, working together to tease out the depths of the play and discover the real characters that populate its world. To make a Much Ado that is ours, not just the play of reputation. I hope you'll want to join me - on stage or backstage - in creating an exciting summer show and having lots of fun along the way.
Joseph Kenneway
Director
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