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A confident, if slightly unimaginative, take on the Bard’s 1599 classic comedy. Summary
Rating
Good
A speedy recap for those of us who didn’t study Shakespeare’s romantic-comedy of errors at GCSE: Much Ado About Nothing follows two pairs of lovers – the sickly-sweet Hero and her hearteyed Count Claudio, and the staunchly un-romantic Benedict and Beatrice – as they are tricked by those around them into falling in and out of love with one another.
As with most Shakespeare, dramatic irony rules OK in Much Ado, and audience members get to enjoy being ‘in’ on several secrets that remain hush-hush to the characters on stage. Moving Parts plays up to the bard’s penchant for subterfuge, with cast members throwing glances at those of us sitting on the front row which we must try and return without giving the game away. It’s a fun, unintimidating form of audience interaction that suits both the production and intimate nature of the space in which it is performed. St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden (i.e., The Actor’s Church) is the perfect venue for shows like this one; players skip amongst the late spring roses and beneath a string of warm festoon lighting, and the on-stage action is soaked in a hot, heady, and oh-so-romantic summer syrup that it benefits nicely from.
Moving Parts haven’t set out to create a ‘fussy’ show. Other than the team’s decision to drop the story onto a 1960’s backdrop, this Much Ado does what it says on the tin: it explores love in its many painful forms (unrequited, love at first sight, love upon suggestion etc.) and has fun doing so. This is Shakespeare, plain and simple, and the company do well, on the whole, in their decision to treat it as such. Performances are energised and eloquent, with Katrina Michaels delivering a stand-out take on Margaret (Hero’s waiting woman); Michaels’ confidence and clarity never waver, and she brings some real zest.
The team does fall down a little on the design side of things, which is lacklustre. The only real evidence of the production’s 20th-century setting seems to be Beatrice’s selection of vibrant shift dresses and knee high, white vinyl boots. The set is limited to some simple boxes which adapt to the situation (sometimes serving as a wall behind which to whisper, sometimes as a make-shift perch) and two changing tents made to look like Sicilian castles. While the practical function of the ‘castles’ is understandable (performers must change costume somewhere, and there is no backstage, as such) something more ‘honest’ (a plain backing wall, a sheet, etc.) may have served better.
It’s also a slight shame that the musicians in the cast are left to do the heavy lifting when it comes to soundtrack. Each player is certainly talented, and one can’t help but feel that, had their banjos and accordions been given a little extra support from the speaker system (a few 60s-style beats, perhaps), their tunes could have taken on a fullness that is otherwise lacking.
But the integrity of the show remains. Bolstered by the confidence of the company’s performers, Moving Parts give us a classic, unpretentious take on Much Ado. “No need for lies or deception” the cast hazard (through the medium of song) as the show approaches its close; and yet without them, we wouldn’t have one of Shakespeare’s most entertaining romps. Lies and deception in moderation, then.
Written by: William Shakespeare
Produced by: Martin South, Joanna Nevin (Moving Parts Theatre Company)
Director: Simona Hughes
Composer/Musical Director: Tamara Douglas-Morris
Moving Parts Theatre Company continues touring Much Ado About Nothing until Saturday 27 July.
More information and how to book can be found here.
