Review: Walk The Bard; Elm Court, Middle Temple

For over 400 years, theatre makers have been trying to make Shakespeare more accessible. Some might argue that the Bard needs no help in that department, but that’s a debate for another time. The latest attempt is Walk The Bard, a collection of six scenes from six different plays exploring love, laughter and heartbreak. 

The production begins with the audience being handed headphones – more about those later – before we’re introduced to the Jester (Harry Duncan). The piece is presented as an immersive experience, with promenade staging, and Duncan acts as our guide around Elm Court, part of the barrister’s chambers of The Middle Temple. He also sets the tone with bawdy wit and a knowing wink, portraying a Puck-like mischievousness before eventually morphing into Puck himself. The performance begins with music and song, with Jenifer Ellis on guitar and Dominic Duncan on flute. Duncan also sings like a dream, so it’s a shame we don’t hear more of his delightful voice.

Our first stop is Verona for Romeo & Juliet, with a window of one of the barrister’s chambers acting as Juliet’s balcony. Romeo is played by Jacob Marshall and Juliet by Isabelle Palmer. The Jester then leads us to Tuscany for Much Ado About Nothing, where Beatrice (Kate Rose Comery) and Benedick (Lawrence Ellis) spar delightfully.

Next comes Southern Spain and The Taming Of The Shrew, with Petruchio (George MacGowan) and Katherina (Sinead Wall) snarling at each other, before we travel to Vienna for Measure for Measure, featuring Angelo (Graeme Sanders) and Isabella (Olivia Carville). Then it’s off to fairyland for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where Oberon (Louie Threlfall), Titania (Sarah Vevers) and the aforementioned Puck weave their magic. Finally, we’re back in England for Twelfth Night, with Olivia (Siana Cooper) and Viola (Lizzie Clarke) confusing each other’s true intentions.

That’s quite a lot of travelling for an audience, particularly as we never actually leave Elm Court. The historic location has a chequered past, having had its original buildings burnt down during the Great Fire of London in 1666, only to be destroyed again during the Blitz in 1940: it’s a dramatic location all of its own.

Walk The Bard makes for an engaging hour or so. All thirteen actors are excellent, with not a weak link among them, and Amanda Redman’s direction keeps things moving at a suitably brisk pace. The lines added in by Lin Sagovsky for the Jester are funny and contemporary without clashing with Shakespeare’s language. Hilary Vyse’s costumes are another delight, cleverly reflecting the different periods the scenes are set in. We move from Beatrice’s 1950s dancehall frock, to Viola’s Burlington Bertie Victorian music-hall look, to Oberon’s glittering, ephemeral, timeless ensemble, complete with matching make-up.

Back to those headphones: I understand the practical reason for them, as open-air theatre can be a battle against traffic, aircraft and other urban intrusions. But on the calm, quiet evening I attended, I soon dispensed with mine. The enclosed court has a wonderful natural acoustic, with the surrounding walls giving the performances an appealing resonance. And there’s something rather nice about hearing Shakespeare’s words naturally – after all, the original audiences managed perfectly well without such devices.

Walk The Bard is an interesting and imaginative way to encounter Shakespeare. At just sixty minutes long, it achieves its aim of accessibility and is performed with considerable enthusiasm. I hope its brief run goes well and, after a summer of fifty-odd dry days, the weather gods continue to smile on the cast and they aren’t forced to perform in “thunder, lightning, or in rain”. 

Written by Lin Sagovsky & William Shakespeare
Directed by Amanda Redman
Designed by Hilary Vyse & Damian Schnabel
Costumes by Hilary Vyse
Fight Choreography by Christian Valle
Sound by Simon Clark & Nicholas Ager
Music Directed by Dominic Duncan

Walk the Bard plays at Elm Court, Middle Temple until Monday 31 August.