“Funny, moving and endlessly inventive, this is Shakespeare exactly as it should be experienced.”
There are few better ways to spend a summer evening than at Shakespeare’s Globe.
As the sun begins to set over the open-air theatre and musicians fill the space with live music, it’s impossible not to feel connected to the way Shakespeare’s plays were originally experienced. Reading Shakespeare and watching Shakespeare are entirely different things. Forget memories of being forced to study the plays at school. This production of Much Ado About Nothing is a reminder that these works were written to entertain. Directed by Chelsea Walker, this is a joyous, intelligent and deeply engaging production that finds fresh ideas within the play while remaining entirely faithful to Shakespeare.
One of the most interesting choices comes from the production’s treatment of Hero. As the programme notes explain, this staging seeks to “bridge the gap” by reassigning lines to Hero, bringing forward Shakespeare’s own intentions and allowing a character who is too often overshadowed to speak more clearly. Rather than feeling like a departure from the text, it feels like a natural extension of it. The production repeatedly emphasises the tragedy that Hero’s silence is largely imposed upon her by those around her, and the result is a richer portrayal of a character who is often overlooked.
The play itself revolves around several couples whose happiness is threatened by misunderstanding, deception and social pressure. As Shakespeare famously observed elsewhere, “the course of true love never did run smooth”, and Much Ado About Nothing explores the many ways people respond when love is tested.
Yet for all the play’s strengths, it inevitably belongs to Beatrice and Benedick, perhaps Shakespeare’s most lovable creations. George Bernard Shaw once wrote that Much Ado About Nothing was not among Shakespeare’s greatest plays, but that Beatrice and Benedick were among the finest people he ever created, the sort of characters we would most like to sit beside at dinner. Pippa Nixon and Ken Nwosu more than justify that reputation.
Both actors throw themselves wholeheartedly into the comedy. Nwosu’s Benedick launches himself into the audience and attempts to hide behind a programme during one of the play’s famous overhearing scenes. Nixon’s Beatrice ends up being drenched while hiding inside a plant that is being watered. The physical comedy is inventive, playful and wonderfully judged. More importantly, both performances are grounded in genuine affection and intelligence. The relationship is lively, making every exchange sparkle.
The entire company is excellent. Assa Kanouté brings warmth and quiet strength to Hero, while Joshua John gives Claudio enough charm that his mistakes feel genuinely painful rather than merely frustrating. Richard Katz proves particularly memorable as Dogberry, drawing huge laughs from the audience throughout.
What impressed me most, however, was the way the production handled the play’s darker moments. Much Ado About Nothing may be a comedy, but it contains some of Shakespeare’s most emotionally devastating scenes. The most powerful arrives when Beatrice demands that Benedick kill Claudio. The audience gasped; a genuine collective shock. For a few seconds it felt as though nobody knew what was coming next. Despite the fact that many audience members undoubtedly knew the play well, we were completely immersed in the world Walker and her cast had created.
That moment demonstrates precisely why seeing Shakespeare performed is so important. Much Ado About Nothing is often praised for its wit and dazzling prose, but productions sometimes overlook the emotional stakes beneath the jokes. This one never does. Sami Fendall’s design complements the production beautifully, while Zands Duggan’s musical direction and the ensemble of onstage musicians help create the atmosphere that makes the Globe experience so distinctive. The music becomes part of the storytelling itself.
The entire evening is enhanced by the setting. More than 250 million people have passed through the Globe’s gates since it opened, and there remains something genuinely special about watching Shakespeare beneath an open sky. Rain or shine, the show goes on, just as it did four centuries ago. Chelsea Walker’s production understands exactly why Much Ado About Nothing has endured. It honours the play’s comedy, acknowledges its darkness, finds new dimensions within familiar characters and trusts both Shakespeare and the audience.
Much Ado runs at Shakespeare’s Globe, London, until 24th October.