Love’s Labour’s Lost (RSC)

At the end of the day, no-one really does Shakespeare better than, well, the Royal Shakespeare Company. Gregory Doran’s latest offering has all the hallmarks of adept, erudite direction and a slick, proficient cast.

The plot centres around the court of King Navarre; who has, along with his fellow nobles, chosen to give up worldly pleasures for three years in order to dedicate themselves to study; particularly shunning the company of women. The arrival of the Princess of France and her entourage, however, somewhat puts pay to this oath – to much comic effect. The jokey boys verses girls antics and elements of farce have the potential to make Love’s Labour’s Lost a rather one-dimensional, facile affair when in the wrong hands. Fortunately, however, it’s safe in Doran’s, as he draws out all the colours of the text with understanding, regard and bucket-loads of humour.

Comedy is really the lynchpin of this production; and it’s satisfying to see a cast and crew that get as much meat out of Shakespearean comedy as they do tragedy, as they play around with the text with immaculate comic delivery and wit. For my part, it was the first time that I have ever found fancy dress, fake eyebrows, or two old men speaking Latin to each other in any way amusing.

This production isn’t just about the laughs, however. Moments of wisdom, poignancy and even sadness are weaved deftly in amongst the comedy, without seeming incongruous or superficial. You could have heard a pin drop during some of Berowne’s thought-provoking discourses on love, and the final, more downbeat scenes are sensitively done and quite genuninely poignant.

Although each character is admirably distinct – it’s not really a play for high drama or tortured soliloquies – no members of the cast really get the chance to individually steal the limelight; although David Tennant’s quick, quirky Berowne had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand and Joe Dixon is allowed to revel in the hilarious ridiculousness of Don Adriano De Armado.

The only criticism I would levy against this production is that it is perhaps a bit too full. There’s a heck of a lot packed into a fairly simple comedy and it could do with a little slimming down in both overall feel and actual timing. That said, Doran has obviously taken great care and attention to draw out all the juice from this potentially rather dry Shakespearean morsel and it would perhaps be a shame for that particular labour of love to be lost.

– Fiona Handscomb