The Heresy of Love - Shakespeare's Globe

Well, the summer’s coming to an end, but there’s still time for a few more trips to the Globe yet. We’ve done some Shakespeare (The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing), and now we’ve started on the non-Shakespeare.

First up, The Heresy of Love by Helen Edmundson. I saw this at Shakespeare’s Globe on its last performance (Saturday 5^th September 2015).

Following Blue Stockings a couple of years ago, this is another play about the plight of intelligent women in a world run by men. It shares themes with this season’s Merchant of Venice too, dealing as it does with the more oppressive aspects of religion.

I found The Heresy of Love an interesting play because of its constant sense of deferral or displacement of the truth. You were never sure who was being honest with whom or about what. And while most of the characters seemed to be in the wrong at one point or another, none of them was ever really presented as being in the right. No straightforward goodies and baddies here – just lots of people, each with their own conflicting motivations.

I’ll be honest, I’m not sure the Globe was the ideal setting for this play. It’s difficult to conjure a sense of claustrophobia or being shut in or trapped when there’s a wide open roof and sky above you. But perhaps that would have been better at an evening performance (I saw a matinee).

It was a thought-provoking play, though. And very moving at the end. Not a play that gives you any easy answers.


On a sort-of related note, the playwright Helen Edmundson also wrote the musical adaptation of Swallows and Amazons with Neil Hannon, which is one of my favourite things I’ve ever seen at the theatre. Just wanted to give it a mention…

Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare's Globe

So this was my second Much Ado in a week. Hot on the heels of The Pantaloons’ version (my review here), I saw this production of Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe on 15^th August 2015.

This was one of the Globe’s touring productions, and it was noticeably different in style from a normal, non-touring Globe production. In fact, it was rather like a cross between a Globe-style and a Pantaloons-style production.

There was a smaller cast than usual for the Globe: just eight of them. Each actor played at least two roles and at least one instrument, as well as singing. (So far, much like The Pantaloons). They also did things like make references to overhead helicopters and throw oranges into the audience and encourage them to throw them back. (I have seen Globe productions that have done this kind of thing before, but it’s also the sort of thing The Pantaloons might do).

...That’s probably enough of the comparisons now.

The cast of this Much Ado, most likely used to playing in all sorts of different settings, made the most wonderful use of the Globe space. They drew in, spoke to, and acted towards every part of the audience – not just front and centre, which some recent Globe productions have had a tendency to do. And the cast were clearly exhilarated by the response they received from the sold-out Globe crowd.

Benedick (Christopher Harper) was undoubtedly the star of the show in this production of Much Ado About Nothing. His clowning in the gulling scene went down particularly well, and he was both funny and believable throughout. Beatrice (Emma Pallant) was also strong.

I like Much Ado About Nothing as a play. It’s probably up there with Twelfth Night in terms of Shakespeare’s comedies. I suppose it’s just as well I like it, as I’ve got to know it quite well in the last week or so.

Both enjoyable versions. Both worth seeing.

Much Ado About Nothing - The Pantaloons

It’s always fun seeing a Pantaloons show, but it’s a particular pleasure when it’s a Shakespeare play.

They performed Much Ado About Nothing at Eastbourne’s Underground Theatre on 11^th August 2015. On top of the familiar Pantaloons ingredients of music, ad libbing, and interacting with the audience, Much Ado has the added benefit of being written by Shakespeare, who has been known to write a good play or two.

The cast has such ease with the language: full of life and character; never a struggle to understand; you could hardly discern the join between the original text and the modern asides.

In a cast of just four, there was much doubling (tripling/quadrupling), and this is where the physicality of the cast’s performances came into its own. They didn’t just rely on costume or voice to distinguish one character from another: each character was immediately identifiable simply by how they held themselves and moved. The villainous Don John, Borachio’s mimes, the old man Antonio, and the choreography of the Watch showed this physicality at its best.

Other touches I enjoyed: the Loons boxes; the music, bubbles and birds when Benedick decided he was in love (and the expression on Neil Jennings’ face as Benedick at that point); the ‘post-credits’ moments at the end; the way the cast seamlessly incorporated a broken telescope prop (and trying to fix it) into a scene, without once losing the rhythm of the dialogue or direction of the action.

The Pantaloons are primarily touring Much Ado About Nothing as an outdoor production, and I’d have liked to have seen this outdoors. I can see that certain scenes would work even better out in the open air and with more space than the stage at the Underground Theatre would allow.

Having seen other Pantaloons shows both inside and outside (Pride and Prejudice most recently), it’s interesting what differences the setting makes. Outdoors in Pride and Prejudice, and probably in Much Ado too, a more serious, reflective mood seems to settle as the darkness falls. While still moving in an indoor setting, I can imagine Claudio’s heartbroken song at Hero’s ‘tomb’ is quite spine-tingling outside at nightfall.

But the Underground Theatre, as its name suggests, is underground – and there are definite benefits to being indoors. You know you won’t get rained on, for a start.

Speaking of which, (as I’m hoping it doesn’t rain), I’ll be seeing the Globe’s production of Much Ado About Nothing this weekend. It’ll be interesting to compare and contrast.


The Pantaloons are on tour with Much Ado About Nothing until 23^rd August. Full tour dates are on their website: thepantaloons.co.uk

Bakkhai - Almeida Theatre

Intense would be the word for this, I think.

Bakkhai at the Almeida (8^th August 2015): three male actors playing the main roles; a chorus of women speaking and singing in unison; a sparse set; no interval; words and music woven into some sort of spell of intensity.

It wasn’t all intense. There were moments of levity. Take Ben Whishaw’s androgyny contrasting with the sight of Bertie Carvel in drag, for instance, who was evidently playing it for laughs to begin with. Having seen Carvel in the RSC’s Matilda a few years ago, there was a definite hint of Miss Trunchbull lingering here.

I saw the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of The Bacchae (same story, different spelling) in 2007, and from what I remember, it was very different to this. That had a sense of spectacle, violence and exhilaration, while the Almeida’s Bakkhai was much quieter in comparison. More than being about excess, this was about control, in various forms.

Control and intensity and a sense of unease.

Treasure Island - The Pantaloons

Huge amounts of energy. Huge amounts of silliness. Huge amounts of fun.

This incredibly fast-paced production of Treasure Island by The Pantaloons (which I saw in Eastbourne on 25^th July 2015) sees just three actors play all the characters. There follows an entertaining variety of madcap characterisations and questionable regional accents. And audience interaction, singing, drumming, ad libbing, and so much packed in you wonder that the cast don’t just collapse in a heap at the end!

I really enjoyed it. So did the kids in the audience around me. They were completely rapt throughout.

In a lot of ways, watching The Pantaloons’ Treasure Island is like watching kids playing at being pirates. The plastic swords, the parrot puppet, the hand gestures to show imaginary spurts of blood when injured. And all played with such gusto and exuberance.

I particularly enjoyed the sword fights (hey, I’m a big kid), and the hip hop medley as Jim ‘drives’ the ship.

I have to confess there were times when I didn’t entirely follow what was going on plot-wise – but it didn’t bother me in the slightest. I was having too much fun.

I’ve read the original book of Treasure Island (I’m afraid it hasn’t stuck in my head much), and I’ve seen the Muppets’ version on film (which has stuck in my head much more). The Pantaloons’ version rivals the Muppets’ for zaniness and probably surpasses both versions in terms of pace.

Really, the huge amount of energy on stage was something to behold.


The Pantaloons are on tour with Treasure Island until 30^th August 2015. See their website for full tour details.

They will be returning to Eastbourne’s Under Ground Theatre on 11^th August with Much Ado About Nothing. After their Treasure Island and Pride and Prejudice, I’m looking forward to seeing what else they’ve got up their sleeves.

Pride and Prejudice - The Pantaloons

Pride and Prejudice is one of those texts that everyone thinks they know all about – whether or not they’ve read Austen’s book. It’s a romance. About well-to-do people with excessively polite manners. And Colin Firth emerging dripping from a lake.

The Pantaloons, of course, excel at playing with these kinds of widely-known texts. They take what everyone thinks they know, lightly mock those expectations, draw out the humour of the original (many of the lines in this adaptation are taken word for word from the book), and they present their own Pantaloonish take.

They started the evening at the Underground Theatre by asking the audience who’d read the book (almost everyone said they had) – and then by asking who’d said that they’d read the book but had actually just seen an adaptation (a few honest souls said yes). They told us on more than one occasion that the famous lake scene was neither in the book nor in their adaptation. And throughout they slipped constantly and seamlessly between 18^th century and 21^st century dialogue, bringing the characters to life and interacting with the audience. This is what I mean by ‘their own Pantaloonish take’: they don’t just act the story out in front of you, they step out of it, bring you into it, have fun with it, and make you engage with it.

The focus of The Pantaloons’ Pride and Prejudice is probably more on the comedy than on the romance. There are certainly some particularly memorable characterisations, what with Lady Catherine’s roar, her daughter’s cough, Mary’s leadenness, and a Mr Collins who wouldn’t be out of place in an episode of Green Wing.

But the scenes that are played more or less straight – such as Lizzy and Darcy’s argument after his first proposal – are absolutely electric. And the moment when Wickham is all that Lizzy can think about is both amusing and evocative too.

The music, as always in a Pantaloons show, plays an important part in creating an atmosphere. But in this production, they make the most of not having a piano in one particular scene, as a cast member becomes the piano (and is then ‘played’ by other cast members). Indeed, an impromptu piano-based pun competition set off by an audience member threatened to derail the scene at one point – but they swiftly got back on track and it served to showcase both the quick wit of the cast and their skill in dealing with and incorporating unexpected distractions.

Aside from one or two rather vocal audience members, it was a quieter audience than usual when I saw Pride and Prejudice (Sunday 14^th June 2015). But the cast worked hard to create the same inclusive, energetic atmosphere as always, and – though quiet – everyone there left with a smile on their face.

So if you think you already know all about Pride and Prejudice and what to expect – this’ll be different from the adaptations you’ve seen before. You might not get Colin Firth, but you will have a gloriously entertaining evening.


The Pantaloons are on tour with Pride and Prejudice throughout the summer – see their website www.thepantaloons.co.uk for full tour details.

The Merchant of Venice - Shakespeare's Globe

The Merchant of Venice is an uncomfortable play, dealing as it does with racism, religious enmity and revenge.

It would undoubtedly have had different resonances in Shakespeare’s time from the resonances it has for audiences now. But I can’t imagine it would have been any less uncomfortable back then. Almost every character in this play does or says something questionable, and they are each called out on it by another character. The uncomfortableness is right there in the text.

The conflicts enacted and the complexities of these conflicts are not shied away from in the play. And the Globe’s production of The Merchant of Venice (which I saw Saturday 6^th June 2015) really drew this out.

The ending was particularly powerful – with Jessica’s Jewish identity reasserting itself as her father was forced to convert to Christianity – but the lighter moments also explored the same theme. When Launcelot Gobbo got two audience members up on stage to play his conscience and a fiend, it was hilarious. The guy playing the fiend got three rounds of applause all to himself. But it also signified the confusion over what’s ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in the play. Gobbo got the audience shouting out for one side or another, all in fun, until all that could be heard was a great muddled din.

It’s interesting, watching The Merchant of Venice from the position of someone in a multicultural, increasingly secular society, where it is not assumed that the majority of the audience is Christian. The audience at the Globe is not expected to automatically identify with the Christians in the play. But what we do see – particularly in this production – is one culture asserting its dominance over others in troubling ways.

In the Globe’s production, this is not just about race and religion. Antonio’s love for Bassanio is also used to show how homosexuality is suppressed. And the female characters, of course, are quite clearly shown to be trapped in a man’s world.

For once, I didn’t mind that there was no jig at the end here. It would have seemed inappropriate after those troubling final scenes. As it was, we left the theatre still feeling troubled and uncomfortable. The world has not resolved these problems yet.