The Oxford Shakespeare Company have opened their third open air season in fine comic style with a sparkling production of Love's Labour's Lost in the gardens of Wadham College. While director Kevin Hosier has given the play a distinctly modern feel, there is nothing forced about this temporal displacement; the words come naturally in uniformly excellent performances by the whole cast, and the comic possibilities of the play are only enhanced. One of Shakespeare's earlier comedies, Love's Labour's Lost is conspicuous for its lack of plot. Yet this is probably the key to its appeal for modern audiences, who respond readily to Shakespeare's dazzling word play and what his punning speech has to say about the tenuous links between well-wrought rhymes and sound reasons.

The plot, such as it is, can be summed up simply. The King of Navarre (memorably played by Phillipe Spall) persuades three of his lords to swear off carnal pleasures for three years for the sake of their scholarly pursuits. An oath is solemnly sworn, after some initial misgivings from the roguish young Berowne (Oliver Langdon), only to be compromised in the next Act by the arrival at Court of the Princess of France (Charlotte Windmill) with three handsome ladies in train. The men quickly forget their oaths and so the fun begins.

There are many memorable performances in this production, though special mention must go to the comic spectacle of Mark Carlisle's overblown Don Armado, and Sarah Goddard's whacky rendition of the blue-rinsed pedant Holofernes (the mixture of Holofernes' Latin grammar and the Don's Latin love antics is a heady one). Charlotte Windmill plays a superbly supercilious Princess who, unimpressed by the oath binding the men, deflates the King's pompous talk with her sharp tongue and mordant wit. This really is an inspired choice of play for the outdoor environs of Wadham College gardens, particularly if you can pick the kind of cool, clear evening that graced the opening night. Make time to go and see this production. After all, what better way to spend a summer evening than laughing in the company of talented actors and an appreciative audience?

Justin Beplate 6/7/04