Much Ado About Nothing Review RSC 2006

Genre: Comedy
Opened 13 Dec 2006
Written: by William Shakespeare
Directed: Marianne Elliott
Produced:Royal Shakespeare Company
Synopsis: Beatrice, independent and forthright and Benedick, a self-confessed 'woman-hater', pass their time constantly goading and scorning each other. When they are thrown together to defend a friend's and family's honour, their true feelings begin to be revealed.

What the critics had to say.....
NICHOLAS DE JONGH for THE EVENING STANDARD says, "Thank heavens for Tamsin Greig! Her tight-skirted, melancholic Beatrice... is just the kind of cool woman to deliver winning shots in a sex-war...Elliott's Cubanisation of the play is the theatrical equivalent of Botox - a seductive but superficial enhancement technique that gradually wears away." MICHAEL BILLINGTON for THE GUARDIAN says, "The joy of Elliott's production lies in its ability to capture the ecstasy at the heart of Shakespearean comedy...magnificent production ." THE FINANCIAL TIMES says, "Over seven months and after a transfer to London, the production hasn't grown. It has, in fact, diminished: you can tell these actors have been playing to thousands of tourists and they need now to re-gauge it for the more sophisticated tastes." CHARLES SPENCER for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "Tremendous...The show opened in Stratford last May to almost universal acclaim, and seems just as fresh, just as funny, just as touching the second time around...There isn't a single weak link in a production that gloriously combines sparkling wit and emotional depth. " "CLAIRE ALLFREE for THE METRO says, "Sizzling version of Shakespeare's comedy full of laughter, sex and simmering political danger." BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE for THE TIMES says, "This is a maddening production: silly at times yet hugely intelligent, miscalculated in places yet excellent at the centre.

External links to full reviews from popular press
The Guardian
Financial Times
The Times
Daily Telegraph

Production photo by Simon Annand

Originally published on

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