Much like its persecuted and prosecuted heroine, this production of Measure for Measure has a lot to prove. Director Emily Burns draws some tight parallels between the scenarios of Shakespeare’s Vienna and the present-day political scene but keeps the play well within the lines of conventional adaptation. That this script lends itself so well to the current moment is more depressing than exciting, and this production does not shy away from, but rather leans into, this discomfort. Distressingly relevant and enduringly painful, this problem play doesn’t offer much in the way of solutions.
Standout performances from Emily Benjamin as Mariana, Douggie McMeekin as Lucio, and Oli Higginson as Claudio only heighten the sense of unease that pervades the play space. Benjamin and McMeekin are two extraordinary performers who elevate often relegated characters to the emotional core of the play with performances both disarmingly thoughtful and alarmingly forceful. Each possesses a charisma that bleeds through the text and colours the play with a vibrancy that is unexpected and undeniable.
Higginson, on the other hand, takes an often sympathetically presented role and mires it in a deeply repugnant ditch of expressivity. His Claudio is wretched and deplorable, and unlike the grand, untouchable figures of the duke and his deputy—familiar to audiences as television personalities but distant from the immediate lived experiences of most women—he is viscerally repellant. For all the play’s commentary on the corruptive nature of authority, this Claudio, although disempowered, is perhaps the most formidable agent of patriarchy on the play’s stage.
Poisoned by toxic masculinity and unafraid of spreading the infection, his repugnance mixes poorly with Isabella’s (Isis Hainsworth) determined repellence and produces an altogether nauseating effect in audiences who nonetheless eat this play up.
Measure for Measure runs until 25th October at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre with tickets available at https://www.rsc.org.uk/
Reviewer: Kira Daniels
Reviewed: 23rd September 2025
North West End UK Rating: