Merton College Gardens, Tue 1st - Sat 5th August 2006

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Lita Doolan August 2, 2006

Merton College Fellows' Garden provides the elegant location for the Court of the King of Navarre; set in 1920's England. The pervasive atmosphere of Shakespeare's most poetic comedy is captured with roaring period music, divine sequinned Charleston dresses and a simple set of four white archways. The set design effectively organises the action of the King and his Lords being seduced by the Princess of France and her Ladies-in-waiting to break their oath of chastity. The making and breaking of promises is a steady theme of the play set in a Court which boasts fantastic characters who play out convoluted subplots as love letters are delivered to the wrong suitors to hilarious effect.

The distinct groups of characters are clearly defined in this early work by the playwright by their use of language with the 'Fantastics' being given lines with humour that is not always easy for a modern-day audience to comprehend. However, the exuberant comedic skills of Costard (Aled Roberts) and Armado (Peter Munro) have this audience roaring with laughter at the Elizabethan puns. The 'Nine Worthies' (a play within the play) that serves to entertain the visiting French ladies is hilarious due to the imaginative use of props such as Costard's hobbyhorse. The final scene of the play is incredibly beautiful, with the bold dramatic humour of the suitors disguised as Muscovites arriving to woo the ladies then returning as themselves to take their partners for a final moonlit dance.

As night falls, the news of the death of the King of France changes the mood of the soirée. In order to win the ladies as their wives the Lords are asked by their sweethearts to endure hardship lasting one year and one day. Director Kate Sagovsky leaves the audience with the delightful deliberation of will they or won't they? As Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) prepare to perform the production in Japan, the last words of the evening, after this civil war of wit rightly belong to Armado who entertains the audience so thoroughly throughout. 'The words of Mercury are harsh after the songs of Apollo. You that way, we this way.'

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Glenn Watson August 1, 2006

Dir: Kate Sagovsky

A not oft-performed play is given a rattlingly good run for its money, as the Oxford University Dramatic Society stage Love’s Labour’s Lost in Merton College Gardens. Virtually plotless, Shakespeare’s brittle romantic comedy is ablaze with fizzy poetry and verbal fireworks and the young cast deliver it in sassy salvos with an impressive confidence. With two performances – London and Stratford – already under their belt, the engaging ensemble seemed relaxed in their roles, which bodes well for the rest of the run.

The King of Navarre persuades his three lords – Longaville, Dumaine and a reluctant Berowne – to join him in three years of study, under a harsh regime. Not only will they cut down on food and sleep – but they’ll have to give up women too. Easier said than done, when the Princess of France and her three ladies in waiting visit the young king’s court. And courting becomes the name of the game. But as the title implies, there are shadows amid the light.

Director Kate Sagovsky has gone for a between-the-wars setting, established immediately by some very fine 20s and 30s costumes. This, and the between-the-scenes playing of period songs, is more than a little reminiscent of Kenneth Branagh’s splendid 1999 musical film of the play. Yet without the programme notes and the tell-tale trappings, there’s little to convey the period and it doesn’t permeate the play. No matter, for Love’s Labour’s Lost is a one-dimensional drama – recognized here by a minimalist backdrop of decorative garden screens. Simple and stark, it acknowledges that the razzle-dazzle of the play is in the poetry and the performances. And happily OUDS have done themselves proud. Funny, touching, feisty and foolish, the characters are all well-played.

It’s invidious to pick names from a strong ensemble, especially as the pleasure of the production is the fizzy chemistry between them all. Certainly Jack Hawkins, Jack Farthing, Himanshu Ojha and Nick Bowling – as the King, Berowne, Longaville and Dumaine – create a strong collective impression. The standout comic scene where each overhears the other proclaiming then denying their love is brilliantly played. Hard, though, to shake the uncanny impression of Jack Farthing’s Berowne as a cross between Rik Mayall and Laurence Olivier – in a good way. And Charlotte Cox as the French Princess gives a strong lead to the accomplished ladies, as they playfully move between cool, cruel and cute.

Peter Munro’s outlandish Spanish fop, Armado gets deserved laughs, and Aled Roberts’ costermonger spiv Costard stays the right side of pantomime. In an otherwise music-less play, Nick Bowling’s love-sick song is another highlight, both funny and touching – summing up this production’s well-judged ability to nail both elements.

This is an intelligent, funny and faithful rendering of a curiously chilly play. It demands the audience’s close attention. But you’ll be amply rewarded. Just look at each performer when they’re not speaking: convincingly in character, acting and reacting perfectly. They certainly deserved more than the one bow they took at the end.

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