Tom Littler's production of Love's Labour's Lost and Much Ado About Nothing as a continuous story, set before and after World War II, has been praised for its elegant stitching and deepened character arcs. Performed outdoors at Braboeuf Manor in Guildford, the double bill merges 17 roles into 10 actors, with characters from the first play reappearing in the second under different names.
Scholarly hypothesis brought to life
Littler explores the theory that the two plays may be parts 1 and 2, as suggested by scholar HR Woudhuysen. Some believe the lost play Love's Labour's Won could be Much Ado About Nothing, which contains a possible in-joke about things seeming clearer 'when you have seen the sequel.'
Each play features a hate-love relationship, Mediterranean chancers, slapstick police officers, and mock sonnets. Littler's production retains traditional titles but merges casts: characters who loved and lost on the eve of war in 1939 reunite after the brutal 'ado' in 1945.
Character conflation and continuity
Berowne and Dumain from Love's Labour's Lost borrow the forenames Benedick and Claudio from Much Ado. Rosaline and Katherine become Beatrice and Hero. The curate Nathaniel and pedant Holofernes continue into the second play, subsuming the roles of watchmen. A single constable, Dogberry, nicknamed 'Dull,' polices the five-hour runtime.
Neil Irish's set is a harbour with a boat and bar serving for concealment scenes. Littler's cutting and stitching is elegantly done, with most lines surviving, though some are redistributed and Littler adds references to 'that summer' for continuity.
Deepening both plays dramatically
The franchise works dramatically, deepening both plays. Creakier scenes in Love's Labour's Lost become a preview of Shakespeare's famous on-off lovers, with the mystery of Beatrice and Benedick's hostility plausibly filled—the suggestion being that after the first finale's promise to marry in a year, he ended the pledge by letter or absence during six years of conflict.
The sometimes queasy psychology of Much Ado, especially the ruining of Hero, occurs in the context of war trauma. Littler's conceit is well calculated for an audience shaped by episodic television.
Performances and comic notes
James Sheldon tinglingly delivers Berowne's and Benedick's big speeches, making them part of a man whose pomposity conceals confused longings. Phoebe Pryce's Beatrice-Rosaline finds a poignant through line from confident to bruised sarcasm. Chirag Benedict Lobo's Claudio Dumain makes the jilting of Hero shiveringly shocking. Matt Pinches as Dogberry relishes the promotion to wartime captain, giving him a self-deluded swagger recalling Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army.
Littler mines every possible comic note with slapstick involving a swing, fishing rods, a dinner gong, ice bucket, and beer pump. The production runs at Braboeuf Manor until 25 July, then transfers to Orange Tree theatre, Richmond, from 31 July to 22 August.
