Ever seen a punk version of Shakespeare? No, well take a seat for Laura J Harris’s adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. With a colourful cast of emerging LGBTQ+ and Northern talent, I can guarantee you haven’t seen Shakespeare quite like this.
Set in the North West of England during the 1980s We have the cunning and dastardly Captain Don John (Mike Bell) who orchestrates mayhem with his band of mischief makers Boracchio (Amy-Lou Harris) and Conrad (Elinor Boult). The trio play great villains and they are the characters you want to see brought to justice in the end. Entangled in their corrupt plan are the poor lovers Claudio (Coda James Neil) and Hero (Shannon Lancashire). Both characters were well portrayed with some excellent emotive scenes, especially Claudio, a very powerful and moving performance. Leonata (Jane Hamlet) also had some very tricky scenes and played them with excellence poise and power as Hero’s mother.
I had three stand out performances, although all cast on stage were excellent, for different reasons I need to mention Benedick (Zed Capobres), Shakespeare is no easy feat to perform and Benedicks lines were delivered with clarity, precision and passion which really drew the audience to the character. Beatrice (Harley Peers) had the audience laughing with perfect comedy timing, facial expressions, delivery and tone. Bringing Shakespeare to the now. Finally, but by no means least Don Pedro (Laura J Harris) I felt led the proceedings and stood strong on the stage. The character was powerful and diverse throughout, especially in the final scenes with Claudio. Very strong performances from both. A good team.
The main characters were supported by a talented cast which varied in age, including two rising superstars on Verges (Jacob) and Vengeance (Lucas). The following names certainly deserve a mention as all members of this cast showed dedication and passion: Antonio (Rob James-Williamson), Oatcake (David Harris Hugh), Margaret/Georgia (El Atkinson), Meg (Alice Wyatt), The Sexton (Clare Grace Williamson), Minister Francis (Ryan Davies- Patrick) and Dogberry (Charlotte Pedley).
With an amazing supporting cast, I think the company did very well performing such a difficult production and story. The only thing I would like to see is more cohesion between the costumes and the language. I know not all language can be updated as this would not be Shakespeare, but, some characters such as Beatrice had greater opportunity and brought language and mannerisms from a more up to date time period, whilst others did not. Overall though, I still really enjoyed this performance and wish this company and production well.
They used music and sound clips to enhance the audiences experience of what time period they were in and the costumes were very eye catching. I found myself waiting to see what they wore next. As the venue is outside, the cast perform very well with no lighting to supplement the performance. They were able to show that they didn’t need this and lack of the technical staging you have indoors doesn’t take away from their performance. At times, characters further to the back of the stage were a little harder to hear, but, the cast did perform without mics in an outdoor venue which obviously incurrs natural outdoor noise. So, despite this, they did an amazing job of engaging the audience, they showed that sometimes, very good storytelling and performance is all you need. Grand lighting and huge sets are not always necessary.
Thank you to the company for a wonderful evening, with an outdoor theatre, minimal props and set, you performed such a difficult story so brilliantly and I’m sure you will delight many with this performance. You had laughter, pain, anger, fun and punk! You should all be extremely proud of what you have achieved.
Much Ado About Nothing is on until Thursday 12th June. You can book tickets from https://shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk/event/much-ado-about-nothing/
Reviewer: Stephanie Wiswall
Reviewed: 11th June 2025
North West End UK Rating: