Theatre

Much ado about nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe

Aisling Murphy | Thursday 23 June, 2011 17:03

On a grey mid-May evening, after a day of typically unpredictable British weather, a trip to the Globe to sit through three hours of Shakespeare may not sound too appealing to most. However, sporadic showers and the fairly lengthy duration of the production did not prevent the presence of a full house. As the crowds bustled in and took their seats (or claimed their standing space) to see the ‘wittiest of all Shakespeare’s plays’, a sense of anticipation was in the air- would Jeremy Herrin’s production prove a worthy contender for Rourke’s star-studded affair opening shortly in the West End?

The iconic stage, adorned with hanging branches of orange trees and flowers, was kept simplistic; with musicians weaving around the crowds, the mood was set for an evening of traditional Shakespearean theatre. Expectations are always high when attending the Globe, and the cast certainly did not fail to deliver. In Particular, Olivier award winning Eve Best shone as the feisty and headstrong Beatrice engaging in banterous exchanges with her counterpart Benedick; Best had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand, uttering quips of ‘he that hath no beard is less than a man’ to a poor, unsuspecting and quite apparently beardless gentleman in the crowd . Charles Edwards played a self-assured yet loveable Benedick, strutting about the stage with exceptional comic timing to rapturous laughter. The pair effortlessly complimented one another and the chemistry, to me, seemed fairly genuine.

Another noteable performance came from the tormented, lovesick Claudio; Philip Cumbus played Claudio as a bit of an irate Chauvinist, to say the least, shocking the audience as he violently flings Hero (poor Ony Uhiara) across the stage on their intended wedding day. The pace seemed to slow down a little after the interval, as the audience seemed somewhat uninterested in Dogberry’s tedious, tourettes-like, verbal slips; it seemed a shame that predictable slapstick and cheap puns opened the second act, however this general lull was overcome by the reemergence of Best and Edwards. Soon enough the witty duo had the crowds laughing aloud once more.

There is no doubt that the play was of a high quality, but was it thrilling?… Maybe if you are ‘into’ this whole Shakespeare thing then yes; but as a young twenty-something myself, I can see how a trip to the Globe doesn’t come across as one of the most inviting nights out. At times I was disappointed by the seemingly self-indulgent-verging-on-arrogant demeanor of the actors, taking witticisms too far or generally just seeming a bit smug with themselves throughout… However, any self-respecting student (or non student for that matter) can sniff out a bargain from a mile away, and with dirt-cheap standing tickets you may as well give it a go! And as if that’s not temptation enough, for all you nineties kids out there it’s an opportunity to see what Joseph Marcell, aka Geoffrey from the Fresh Prince, is up to in his post Bel Air days…

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