Much Ado About Nothing (NT)

Phew, glad it is lots of fun. I was worried they might do something odd with it. 

Thought this was really good fun: great concept, well realised and very funny (I even laughed at Dogberry, whom I normally find really annoying, so massive kudos to that actor and the director).

Some spoilers about the production below, so don’t read if you want to go in blind!

Benedick was the standout, very natural and engaging and managed to combine funny, touching and adorable very well. Big fan of Hero too, liked having an Antonia as Leonato’s wife, thought it gave a great dynamic with Hero. Plus thought it was interesting that Margaret was a bit more fully realised than normal - here at the (not) wedding she realised the part she’d played in Hero’s downfall and tried to confess, but was roughly silenced by Don John - it’s not something I’ve noticed in a production before, but it really made sense.

As others have said, much less keen on Katharine Parkinson as Beatrice - there was literally not even a hint of wistfulness or past pain or depth to the character, which was a shame. She was very funny and lovely and had great chemistry with Benedict after the interval. But I think for the battles of wit and realisation of love to land there needs to be some sense that Beatrice has been hurt before and there just wasn’t (plus I hate it when the audience laugh at the Kill Claudio line and she played it so much for laughs that it probably got the biggest laugh of the night).

But overall would recommend - maybe there’s hope for the National yet

Indeed. You wonder how the young chap acting in the original prod did it. Those lads must have been amazing actors. 

Not the night I saw it. She got a big laugh for it.

That scene is so key to both lead characters. Get the tone wrong and it throws the balance out.

Haven’t seen this yet so can’t comment on KP and the weaknesses mentioned above, but in my view Rachel Stirling would be perfect for the part and she actually wants to play it. But of course casting in venues like the NT isn’t all about suitability.

Is there anything on stage to make front row restricted seats particularly restricted please?

Saw it tonight. Likes it. Very Simon Godwin production…I actually really like his my favourite being Twelfth Night. Loads of people around me were laughing their heads off. I wasn’t…seen it too many times and I found the RSC version as loves Labours Won hilarious. There is a very funny bit with a gelato stand. But my favourite Beatrice and Benedict was Ed Bennet and Michelle Terry. Heffernan was good but no real chemistry. There are a couple of actors I would like to see do it. Saoirse Ronan and James McArdle were great Macbeths and about 10 years ago I saw Pippa Nixon and Alex Walkman in As you Like it and they had so much chemistry. I thought I would love to see them do Much Ado

Do we know when they are planning to announce the new AD ? 

On Much Ado, one RSC pairing I remember being good was Nigel Terry and Fiona Shaw, Shaw wearing small round glasses in Joyce Grenfell mode, Terry playing himself. The two of them did Merchant of Venice in rep with it. 

Deliberately broken. Doran was quite clear when he took over that he wasn’t interested in establishing a company of actors who would appear in multiple productions and develop together. He succeeded, there’s not a single leading actor who has emerged from the RSC during his tenure.

Godwin is popular with who ? Only with audiences, that won't count for much. 

EW is continutiy candidate-what a thing to be....

EW is the Truss of the RSC