Much Ado About Nothing

Synopsis

This summer, David Tennant and Catherine Tate are to appear together on stage for the first time in a brand new production of William Shakespeare’s timeless comedy Much Ado About Nothing.

Two young lovers Claudio and Hero are to be married imminently but the devious scheming of a resentful Prince looks set to thwart the nuptials. Meanwhile, marriage seems inconceivable for reluctant lovers Beatrice and Benedick whose endless witty sparring threatens to keep them apart forever.

Directed by Josie Rourke, Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre, Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare’s great plays and reminds us all of the failings and triumphs of the human condition in our never ending search for perfect love.

While now best known to TV fans for his adventures as Doctor Who , David Tennant launched his career on stage in his native Scotland. His early career also included two seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company, where his Shakespearean roles included Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Touchstone in As You Like It (for which he won an Ian Charleson Award commendation) and Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors. His many other stage credits in the West End, at the Donmar Warehouse, National, Royal Court and elsewhere, include Lobby Hero (for which he was Olivier and Whatsonstage.com nominated), The Real Inspector Hound, Black Comedy, Hurlyburly, Vassa, Push-up What the Butler Saw, Look Back in Anger and the 2003 premiere of Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman.

Best known for her self-penned BBC TV comedy sketch series, Catherine Tate is also a stage regular. She’s currently starring in Alan Ayckbourn’s Season's Greetings at the National, while her last two West End appearances were in David Eldridge’s Under the Blue Sky and Neil LaBute’s Some Girls. Her other stage credits include A Servant to Two Masters, The Way of the World and The Exonerated, while on screen she’s also been seen in Bleak House, Starter for Ten, Scenes of Sexual Nature, Wild West and Men Behaving Badly.

Whatsonstage.com have some great availability of Much Ado About Nothing tickets so book soon for one of this years must see shows!

Our Review:

2 June 2011

Judging by the crowds flocking outside the theatre entrance, there's little doubt as to what the theatrical event of the year is going to be. The reunion of David Tennant and his Dr Who co-star Catherine Tate create a buzz that's rarely created by a Shakespeare play.

Director Josie Rourke has set the play in the 80s – that decade of high-living for the moneyed classes. It's a chance to relive some awful fashions and I like the soft rock setting “Sigh no more ladies”. It is frantically paced and staged with some panache, but the garden scene, where Beatrice overhears about Benedick's love, doesn't work for me. There's lots of work with pulleys (the Globe uses pulleys in its recent production too – it must be this year's fashion) but it rather distracts from the text. There's also one big change, Leonato appears to have acquired a wife but lost a brother, not that it adds very much.

The masses will come to see Tennant and he's certain...

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Latest User Review

Laura H. - 15 December 2011:

I personally thought that this production was very good. I was desperate to see it, because i loved cathrine tate and david tennant as actors and because shakespeare is my favourite author. The production had some positive as well as some negative points. First of all, I want to say that David Tennants Benedick was superb. Benedick is egoistic, charming, funny, slightly self concious, determined, witty and always thinks that he is the smartest person in the room. David Tennant pulled it of perfectly, and I loved the paint scene and the sonnet scene. With another actor, the paint scene might have seemed to over the top, but David managed it brilliantly. I give him five stars. Cathrine Tate did pretty well, seeing that she is more of a comedian than a stage actress. Shakespeare is hard, especially when it's prose. This Beatrice was funny and witty, but i always thought her to have more emotional depth-something Cathrine didn't quite manage to capture. i think she used far too many comic elements, especially in the overhearing scene, which was over the top. Also, her use of voices dissapointed me a little, especially in the first half. I think that in the second half Cathrine Tate did brilliantly, I loved her in those scenes. The comic element was a lot more subtle there, and that's when the character's emotion finally came through. Shame she didn't start that way. Elliot Levey did absoulutely brilliantly as Don john, instead of being so extremely villanous that it just got boring, he was self conscious and insecure. He gave the impression of being a sneaky little rat, unwanted but lonely. I think that he actually managed to make the audience sympathise with him. Tom bateman was a superb Claudio seeing that he is a new comer. Sarah Macrae was also very good, but could have had some more emotion. I loved Adam James as Don pedro, he was friendly, but lonely, relying on the companionship of his two friends. Finally i see a prince that doesn't treat Beatrice's refusing him as a joke, but who takes it to heart and is sad about it. Anna fanworth did well in her role, but I don't think it was such a smart move having innogen there. john ramm was a superb Dogberry, bright and funny and fantastic when compared to kenneth Branaghs version. I actually managed to undertsand what he was saying this time. I wouldn't give this production five stars, because i've seen better. But it was superb and energetic, and I don't think i've ever laughed as much in theatre in my whole life....

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