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TH E VA N C OUV E R C OURI E R FRI DAY, JUNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 0
theatre
Much fun in Dean Paul Gibson-directed Much Ado About Nothing
Breezy and bathed in light, Bard romance perfect for summer night Much Ado About Nothing
At Bard on the Beach until Sept. 25 Tickets: 604.739.0559 www.bardonthebeach.org Reviewed by Jo Ledingham
Not only is actor Jennifer Lines absolutely luminous, but on opening night of Much Ado About Nothing, she found sunlight. No, she wasn’t responsible for the good weather that Bard artistic director Christopher Gaze must have been hoping for (and got), but in the opening scene—a glorious scene in which Beatrice (Lines), thinking she’s unobserved, practises flamenco dancing—Lines found sunlight on the stage and danced in it. It made my heart leap. Suddenly, everyone onstage is dancing, stamping and clapping (choreographed by Karen Flamenco) in an outpouring of joy. The troops from Aragon are coming home from war and passing through Messina; excitement and romance are in the air. This is the kind of scene that director Dean Paul Gibson revels in: colourful, romantic and sensual, with passions overflowing all over the place. In the festive scenes, celebrating the victorious Spaniards, the women are in costume designer Mara Gottler’s flounced skirts, the men in sashes. Flowers cascade down set designer Drew Facey’s balconies. Ah, you just want to leap out of your seat, drink wine, click your heels and shout olé (even though the setting is in the pre-First World War Italian countryside). Gibson gives this play a light
Much Ado About Nothing at Bard on the Beach overflows with music, dancing and romance. touch and leaves us to ponder the darker aspects of this much-loved Shakespeare romantic comedy after the curtain falls. I’ve never been happy with its sexual politics: the too readily accepted, unsubstantiated aspersions cast by nasty Don John (Parnelli Parnes) against innocent Hero (Almeera Jiwa); Leonato’s (Gerry Mackay) vicious tirade against Hero, his beloved daughter; lovestruck Claudio’s (Gaelan Beat-
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ty) spiteful decision to disgrace Hero publicly rather than privately; and Don Pedro’s (Martin Sims) bartering of Beatrice in lieu of Hero. What? Did anybody ask Beatrice? These questions still hang over this production, but Gibson chooses not to hammer them home. While casting actor John Murphy as Benedick didn’t rule out serious intent, it certainly made it likely that this Much Ado would be Much Fun.
Playing for Change
Featuring over 60 artists and groups from all over the world! Colin Hay • Sarazino • Said the Whale Natacha Atlas • Calexico • Jon & Roy Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder Brett Dennen • Peatbog Faeries The Deep Dark Woods • Crooked Still Boukman Eksperyans • Gadelle Jeremy Fisher • Connie Kaldor Alex Cuba • Shane Koyczan & the Short Story Long Ta o S e e g e r B a n d emmas’s revolution Hannah Georgas • Pacific Curls Oka • El Puchero del Hortelano Las Alegres Ambulancias Watcha Clan • Finley Quaye and more! Bettye LaVette
The Avett Brothers
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
Sarah Harmer
TICKETS: 604.602.9798
www.thefestival.bc.ca 438 Richards Street
This huge role is a big break for Murphy who shows off his comedic ability with terrific timing, hilarious facial gestures and wonderful physicality. He’s funny ducking behind the shrubbery and peering through the rose bushes as his friends trick him into believing Beatrice is in love with him. Equally funny is Lines in the parallel scene as her friends trick her into believing Benedick is in love with her. These two, you’ll re-
member, are sworn enemies of love and of each other. Dogberry and the men of the watch are as silly as Shakespeare intended. I’m generally not fond of these comic scenes, but Simon Bradbury’s Dogberry is ridiculously pompous with his mangled language and a stair routine that’s one-of-a-kind. Less obvious but amusing on the stairs, too, is Shawn Macdonald (as Verges), looking bow-legged and gimpy. In many ways, Much Ado About Nothing is a very modern-feeling play with a pair of lovers who are anti-romantic. While Hero and Claudio have bought into the whole love/marriage/happilyever-after scenario, Beatrice and Benedick are not convinced of the benefits of marriage and are, therefore, wary. When tricked into believing they are loved by the other, they are excited and flattered but they proceed with healthy skepticism. We wish them well but know, as do they, that the arc of their life together will not be peaceful. They are a pair of scrappers. And so Much Ado About Nothing resonates with a contemporary audience who may also suspect that marriage isn’t always a bed of roses. If someone were to write Much Ado About Nothing: The Musical, it should be Stephen Sondheim. Director Gibson, the designers and the cast give us a gay, breezy and music-filled production that felt perfect for a (rare) sunny June evening and the opening of Bard’s 21st season. joled@telus.net