The entrance of the princes and Claudio is a sublime nod to Tarantino, and it isn't difficult to detect Baz Luhrmann's influence in Charlotte Conquest's direction. Much Ado About Nothing, however, is no tragedy, and the laughs are elicited in an assured, well-timed, non slapstick manner, especially by Elizabeth Hopley and Tom Peters whose performances as Beatrice and Benedick stand out like the bullfighter's red of their costumes. The play has been traditionally criticised for its insubstantial plot and characters, but Beatrice and Benedick's entertaining wit and wrestling allows the antitheses of Shakespeare's usual heroes and heroines to emerge superior, putting Victorian disapproval of their behaviour firmly in the past. Justin Webb's Dogberry is notable, and Adam Kay's Antonio had me fearing an elderly member of the public had strayed somehow into the fenced-off area.

Character and scene changes are seamless and convincing, and the music employed at intervals is sympathetic to the passionate style of the production, managing at times to be both stirring and moving. Some may find Dogberry and Verges' Watchmen and the indulgent dance finale too much, but these are small complaints against a production designed to dazzle in its simplicity, which can congratulate itself for remaining true to Shakespeare's prose while still retaining the novice's attention. Much Ado About Nothing has been dragged successfully into the twenty-first century and is as relevant today as when it was first staged towards the end of the sixteenth century. This is two and a quarter hours of the best kind of entertainment.

Leanne Jones, 9th June 2004