RSC Loves Labours & Much Ado

Caught the matinee of LLL at the Haymarket yesterday.

It was a very pretty production. It's set in Edwardian England, shortly pre-WW1 (as mentioned above). My son said it had the feeling of a ballet production which can be revived anytime over a few decades using the same costumes and sets (and both were very attractive) but different casts.
There was a blandness to the performances. Ed Bennett was clearly the best of the men - you felt a bit relieved when he was on. Most of the acting was competent, but nothing particularly exciting or inventive or touching or romantic. I did think the dancing in disguise scene was genuinely funny and there was some charming staging in the rooftop scene. It whiles a way an afternoon and I could imagine it being a pleasant Christmas outing if you wanted something safe.

Although one review did start by mentioning the eye-watering ticket prices.

Saw Loves Labours Lost tonight, having never seen or read it before. It charmed me, though it's definitely a slighter piece than Much Ado.

I'm wondering if the songs are in the original text, or added?

I saw Edward Bennett in a Victorian comedy at the Orange Tree where the text said the actors had to improvise a different last scene every time - maybe he's got a taste for it.

I haven't seen the Much Ado (don't feel like I need to see it again) but I'm really glad I saw LLL. It's very funny and charming.

I recall thst Ed Bennett did something similar when I saw the show before Christmas, theatremonkey.

I enjoyed it. The two leads seem older than when it played at the RSC which gave it a kind of last shot at love feel. I missed Michelle Terry as she gave Beatrice a fire that Lisa Dillon lacked but the actor playing Claudio has matured into the role nicely.

I am guessing that these productions have matured since I saw them in Stratford. LLL was by far the better production at that time - a real joy from start to finish. Much Ado was almost crass in comparison - very broad approach to the comedy and almost zero effort put into making sense of the post-war setting (other than the costumes)

I would happily revisit LLL were it not for the fact that I am in the middle of casting it and don't want to view any other productions until mine is over.

I will second that I saw it during Xmas and the same thing happened as above. It may have initially been a faux pas that received just a strong audience reaction, he chose to put it in from time to time.

The brilliant pairing of Love's Labour's Lost and Much Ado about Nothing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket is on until March 18, so there is still time to grab tickets --TKTS usually has them so it's a bargain too. The productions have been wafting around for a while but somehow I came to them very late. Both are stunning to look at, set and costume-wise and the music is a joy too. As a solid Stratfordian, I particularly appreciated the plundering of Marlowe's Come Live for the theme tune.

LLL has never been one of my favourites -- is it anyone's?-- but the eve of WWI setting puts heart into what can seem a daft story and, equally, WWI adds depth to the always entertaining Much Ado.

Direction is by Christopher Luscombe, who can do no wrong in my eyes, I confess. As an actor, he was the only one who made the somewhat tiresome Shakespeare clowns actually funny and was indeed particularly good as Moth in an erstwhile LLL. As a director, he clearly sees nothing wrong in making the most of humour whilst not losing sight of what the play is actually about. Had I known he was the directing these I would have gone much sooner and I am now looking forward very much to his Twelfth Night in the next RSC season. His Nell Gwynn is touring and is also a real pleasure.

Of the two I preferred LLL, not something I would ever have anticipated. That said, I took a teenager to Much Ado and he chortled his way through it as well as re-enacting the Christmas Tree eavesdropping scene, at intervals, for the next week. Both productions are brisk at under two hours and a half hours with an interval but the cuts have respected the language. Full reviews on my blog, in case you are interested!

Is there a thread already?? I couldn't find one and I did ask Admin -- apols!

Yes they get a big subsidy but you wouldn't know it from their ticket prices.