Review: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at the Stratford Festival is Fresh and Fun

If you heard riotous laughter emanating from the Festival Theatre in Stratford on Friday evening, you may already know that MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING has officially opened at the Stratford Festival. The production directed by Chris Abraham and starring Maev Beaty and Graham Abbey, boasts hilarious comedy from the entire company, as well as some moving dramatic scene work – particularly from Allison Edwards-Crewe as Hero.

Erin Shields offers additional text to this Shakespearean favourite, and this immediately allows for a kind of freshness and fun that undoubtedly was felt by original audiences back in Elizabethan times when this play first hit the scene. In no time at all, I was laughing so hard that I was in tears and I was certainly not the only one. The cast fed off the energy of the audience in such a way that this opening night felt particularly wild and special.

The first thing audience members will take in as they take their seats, is Julie Fox’s stunning set design - A large tree branch leading up to a balcony, a lit up circular mirror hanging from the ceiling, orange trees, statues, benches and other greenery laid about the stage to create a beautiful garden. What becomes clear as the play progresses, is that this is not simply set design, these are props. Almost every single item gets interacted with by Abbey or Beaty in what can only be described as physical comedy genius.

The entire ensemble is excellent here. Dejah Dixon-Green, and Akosua Amo-Adem are delightful as Margaret and Ursula – Hero’s personal attendants and confidantes. Their reactions to Abbey’s Bendick’s inflated sense of self are entertaining. Dixon-Green is also excellent in one of the few more serious scenes. She has no dialogue, but as the action takes place downstage, we see Margaret, standing upstage, piece together how she was used as a pawn in Don John’s attempt to trick Claudio into believing Hero was unfaithful.

Jakob Ehman and Cyrus Lane are fun as Borachio and Conrade, and Josue Laboucane, John Kirkpatrick, Kevin Kruchwykwich, Dante Prince, and Glynis Ranney are hysterical as Dogberry and the members of the neighbourhood watch who accidentally save the day by discovering Borachio and Conrade’s involvement in Don John’s plot, despite the Watch’s complete and utter incompetence.

Never have two Shakespearean roles complimented one another more, than the two that Michael Blake is playing this season at the Festival. Here, he plays Don John, the miserable and manipulative bastard brother to Andre Sills’ Don Pedro. On another night, you might see him in KING LEAR as Edmund, the even more manipulative, but less miserable bastard brother to Andre Sills’ Edgar.

Austin Eckert and Allison Edwards-Crewe are tasked with some of the more serious material in this play as Claudio and Hero. There is always a risk with Claudio that the character will come off as unlikeable. But Eckert avoids this fully. Yes, the audience may be frustrated or disappointed with Claudio, but Eckert portrays him as young, earnest, and easily fooled. Edwards-Crewe is excellent as Hero – highlighting her strength at the end of the play and never making her feel like she is simply a victim of circumstance.

The freshness of this play, and the willingness for Shields, Abraham, and company to take liberties to achieve that freshness, is what causes it to excel. The majority of the audience has seen this play before, and the ability to provide a fresh vision, while trusting the source material and maintaining the spirit of the bard, is always a challenging balance. This production walks that line perfectly.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING continues in Repertory at the Festival Theatre until October 27th.

PHOTO CREDIT: David Hou

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