Twopenny Theatre

Producer-director Jamie Lloyd definitely has a formula – take a classic production, give it a monochrome, minimalist facelift, and cast an A-list actor as a lead. This is great for the ad campaign, but not always for the artistry. Last year’s Romeo and Juliet, helmed by Tom Holland, was a gloomy, grating disappointment, and reviews of last month’s The Tempest, starring Sigourney Weaver, found it “industrial” and “monotonous.” So forgive my slight apprehension in the run-up to Much Ado About Nothing, a Shakespearean play (check) starring Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell (double check). Would this witty, romantic comedy be subjected to the achromatic Lloyd aesthetic?

I delight to report that Much Ado About Nothing is quite fun, and monochromatic only in the sense that it’s very, very pink (the entire stage is painted in a bubble-gum shade, and coated with matching confetti). It’s a fittingly flirty look for a play centered on romances, with the quick courtship, engagement, and marriage of young noble Claudio (James Phoon) and Hero (Mara Huf) giving the play a basic structure. But it’s the setup of long-time frenemies Benedick (Tom Hiddleston) and Beatrice (Hayley Atwell) that gives the play its strongest moments. Strong-willed and -witted, with “disdain” for each other only topped by similar disregard for the institution of marriage, their pride ultimately leads them right into each other’s arms after each is told that the other has fallen in love with them first. It’s an absurd rom-com premise built on a nugget of truth – for what can be more attractive than someone who’s deeply attracted to you?

As Benedick, Hiddleston is perfectly cast, a proven leading rogue who’s not too proud to lean on the fandom gained while playing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to coax “oohs” from the audience while, say, unbuttoning his shirt, or pulling Beatrice in for a kiss. Neither, it should be said, is Jamie Lloyd or set designer Soutra Gilmour – at the point when Beatrice and Benedick are privately pining over each other, their objects of romantic reflection are cardboard cut-outs from their Marvel days as Loki and Agent Carter. As Beatrice, Atwell is a worthy sparring partner for Benedick, and quite hilarious, though she’s given less to do. That Shakespeare…his strongest female characters never quite have the panache of Austen’s or Brontë’s, do they?

In this production, it’s all party vibes for the first half, which is littered with set pieces ranging from the vaguely surreal (a Masquerade ball with oversized headpieces that’d be at home on the set of The Masked Singer…or a furry convention), to the purely comic (Benedick attempting to eavesdrop to hide himself in a pile of the omnipresent pink confetti). After the interval, things slow down, as the spiteful, self-proclaimed “villain” Don John (Tim Steed), a reluctant member of Claudio and Benedick’s party, finds purchase in a scheme to blow up the impending wedding by smearing the fealty of Hero. Vows are called off, and a challenge is made. Rest assured, however, that this play will end with at least two happy couples, and an entreaty from the love-transformed Beatrice that a sad man should “Get thee a wife.” One might dare to say it’s “all well that ends well”.

Overall it’s a pleasing show, though there are still some things which prove a little stale: air horns (of all things) to mark scene transitions, and mid-scene pauses that linger a tad too long (Are they building tension? Or trying to remember their lines?) More seriously, the conflict of the second half escalates so quickly as to seem out of character for many, especially Hero’s father Leonato (Forbes Masson). This is partly a problem of the text, and potentially a problem of the actors, but I can’t help but shake it’s also a fault of Lloyd’s. This is my second show of his, and the second where the nuance of Shakespeare – the comedy within a tragedy, or the cruelty within a comedy – isn’t quite given its due motivation.

This is forgiven, however, in the broader context of a show with an amusing story and a charming cast. And, it must be said, Lloyd’s minimalist trappings work well here to put a spotlight on Hiddleston, Atwell, and the rest of the cast’s confident handling of the text. Extracurricular flourishes – such as interspersed modern love songs, sung stylishly by Mason Alexander Park (Margaret) – are effective at setting the mood. To a heart that’s hard as Benedick and Beatrice’s, this show just might soften it.

Review: ★★★★

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