Jes Camilleri reviews Much Ado about Nothing, a Shakespeare in The Pub production by WhatsTheirNames Theatre.
Following the sold-out success of Two Gentlemen of Verona and Twelfth Night, the wonderful collective that goes by the name of WhatsTheirNames Theatre returns for one more round with one of Shakespeare’s best loved comedies. Much Ado is more than just a romantic comedy; it blends equal helpings of melodrama, social commentary and dark humour to great effect. It is also a play where the various sub-plots seriously contend with the main plot for our attention, giving all the characters some wonderful opportunities to shine.
As in previous productions of their Shakespeare in the Pub series, the success of the production relies heavily on the bravura of the actors playing multiple roles, and once again they have managed to pull it off. Joseph Zammit in particular, skilfully manages to transform himself from the quick-witted Benedick to the Machiavellian Don John to the plain dumb Verges with swiftness and ease.
The other unique element of these productions is the challenge of playing Shakespeare in a few square metres of a pub where the actors are practically (sometimes literally) sitting on the audience’s lap. Here, director Philip Leone Ganado excels by squeezing out all the opportunities of such a limited space and the participation of an audience member to play one of the minor characters.
The wonderful Tina Rizzo plays Beatrice with equal doses of wit and scorn to match Zammit’s Benedick. She gives as good as she gets and gives a wonderful dark turn to her character after her cousin Hero (played by Giulia Xuereb) is wrongly spurned by Claudio (played by Gianni Selvaggi). Her crisp delivery and expressive looks made the lines flow effortlessly and slice through the air like a Samurai’s sword. Together with Zammit, her verbal sparring was one of the highlights of a very entertaining show.
The other set of lovers, Hero and Claudio, were well portrayed by Xuereb and Selvaggi respectively, but the audience are not given enough time to feel involved in their story, partly because of the rapid pace of the direction and partly due to the necessary cuts to the script. Although theirs might not be as interesting a dynamic as that between Beatrice and Benedick it is no less important to the narrative and this made me feel less involved in the outcome of their relationship.
No Shakespeare in The Pub performance would be complete without a couple of dance scenes thrown in for good measure, and in this particular production the audience not only get a Venetian masked ball but also a wonderful zany conga line! The production also boasts some wonderful musical interludes with Selvaggi on guitar and the cast in fine song, particularly the male actors.
Once again, WhatsTheirNames Theatre have delivered the goods with their Shakespeare in The Pub series; a fun, witty and engaging show. After three productions, the formula for these productions might, however, be getting a little too predictable for some regular audience members. Maybe the time has come to set themselves an even greater challenge; Shakespeare in a phone booth anyone?