As both a Doctor Who fan and a stage actor, and having played Benedick last year in YSP's production of Much Ado About Nothing (which I will be uploading to my YouTube channel when we finally get those fucking DVDs), I was tickled pink to learn that the Doctor and Donna would be playing Benedick and Beatrice at the Wyndhams Theatre in London. So, I splurged on a trip out to London (dear lord, that cost me a lot, but it was worth it), and spent five days there, during which I saw quite a bit of London (the National Gallery, the bookstore row on Charing Cross, &c.), and posted a Travelogue on my DeviantArt journal.
So, how was the play?
Well, read on and see.
BACKGROUND: For those who don't know, Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, set in Messina, Italy, in an unclear time (which for some reason has a language, culture and social customs identical to Elizabethan England, but oh well), and pioneered several of the best romantic-comedy Tropes that have been preserved through the ages.
Now, this review will contain spoilers as well, and there are a few things referenced here that are not mentioned in the plot summary above, so it may confuse people who are unfamiliar. If you wish to get a full sense of the play, I suggest you rent Kenneth Branagh's movie version, which is one of the better film adaptations of Shakespeare ever (not much competition, but it is quite good), or watch MY version when I finally get to upload it to YouTube.
But, here we go:
Review: The Tennant/Tate Much Ado About Nothing
Even after reading the director's note in the program, I'm still not entirely sure why they chose to set Much Ado About Nothing in 1980s Gibraltar... though granted, the program did justify it, given Gibraltar's reputation as a paradise for off-duty military guys, and it gave an opportunity for some "interesting" costume choices, which I will discuss in a moment. But, I've never been entirely opposed to modernization, and overall they made it work, so I don't fault them for it.
The set is centered around a revolving stage with four enormous pillars in a row on it. This can be turned to separate one part of a scene from another, and allowed some interesting set design.
The problem is, I'm getting unfocused. So much of it was awesome, but there were a litany of problems as well, and I can't quite figure out in what order to list them and still form a coherent narrative, so let me list some aspects of the production, and the good and bad elements.
1. CASTING & CHARACTER INTERPRETATION
The Best: The Doctor and Donna as Benedick and Beatrice. That is dream casting, and they pull it off, for the most part, flawlessly. They lived up to my impossibly high expectations, just bouncing off each other and crashing into each other. I did grow somewhat tired during the two "overhearing" scenes (see below), but during their scenes together, they were perfect. They played Benedick and Beatrice as two overgrown children stuck in the "Ew, gross, cooties!" stage, which is perfect. I knew I wouldn't be able to recommend this highly enough, and I was right.
The Good: The Watch were great, especially with their new context (see the costume design below). Don Pedro was endearing. Leonato was great, and he and Innogen (see below) had some great sneaky moments with the Hero's-fake-death bit.
The Miscellaneous: I always keep a watch out for how each production plays Don Pedro's proposal to Beatrice: Is it serious? Joking? Do they have a difference of opinion? Well, in this version, the proposal is serious, but Beatrice doesn't think so, and she laughs uproariously until she catches sight of his face, at which point she trails off, and then laughs awkwardly and backpedals. I like that element, though I think Don Pedro's reaction is a bit sour (he plays this as a reason for his prank on Benedick and Beatrice, and seems to be using it as revenge for humiliation). I would have liked him to be a bit more grounded and self-effaced, but he makes it work.
The Bad: Claudio. Look, all you theatre directors out there: I realize it's hard to make Claudio likeable, but you could at least TRY, okay? In this one, he actually looks like he's about to strangle Hero and even places his fingers on her throat during the aborted wedding scene. He switches gears way too easily during the post-wedding confrontation scene, and doesn't seem to try to tie the different elements together.
Also, this is a relatively minor nitpick, but I thought we had moved past making villains "vaguely effeminate." But apparently not, since Don John's resentment seems to stem from how badly gays are treated in the military. Gee, an effeminate villain, who'da thunk it?
2. REIMAGININGS AND MODERNIZATIONS
The Good: Dogberry, in this version, is a drill sergeant, and the Prince's Watch is a cross between the coast guard and mall cops, consisting of a pair of aging soldiers. Dogberry is priceless in his military body language, and how he uses it.
In addition, Benedick's first entrance, when he comes in behind the others driving a golf cart and honking loudly, is priceless, as is the scene where he attempts to write a song for Beatrice... by typing on an electric piano-keyboard.
The Uncertain: Antonio, Hero's uncle, has been changed to "Innogen," Leonato's wife and Hero's mother. It was a trifle startling, but they made it work, especially during the "I loved my niecechild, and she's dead!" scene.
The Bad: Claudio's stag party, and Hero's bachelorette party. Again, I realize Claudio isn't supposed to be really fair, but we're supposed to believe he could have a stripper on his lap for half the night and still be pissed about what he thinks he sees? And it would have been so easy to lend more depth of character if they'd had him turn down the gift, but no... and also, if Hero is supposed to be this chaste virgin, would she really have a beefcake dancer?
Also, minor nitpick: One side effect of changing Antonio to Innogen is that Antonio's bit at the masquerade ("At a word, I am not!") has to play out differently. And how they chose to do this was: To give his lines to "Angelo," a servant in Leonato's household... and his wife is Ursula, a middle-aged wife who comes to drag him away from the festivities with a stern and harsh, "I know you well enough, you are my husband!" I half-expected her to start brandishing a rolling pin.
3. COSTUMES
The Best: The masquerade. Oh dear lord, the masquerade. You will not believe what Benedick and Beatrice wear in the masquerade. David Tennant in drag. In costume as a hooker, with fishnet stockings, a jean miniskirt, shiny red boots and a purple top with a tiny black sequined jacket, and a blonde wig, large sunglasses... and what looked from the audience like a pig nose, for some reason. Meanwhile, Catherine Tate comes to the masquerade in a fancy black suit. A man's suit, to be exact, with trousers, shoes, white shirt, black jacket and black necktie, all of which are a good four sizes too big for her, and sunglasses to complete the look. Seeing those two trade the "Will you not tell me who told you so?" lines in those getups, oh dear lord it was priceless.
The Good: Again, Dogberry as a drill sergeant, the night watchmen in coast guard jackets, and the sailors' uniforms on Don Pedro's military are all wonderful.
Benedick's and Beatrice's regular outfits are good too... Benedick's sailor uniform and Beatrice's blue overalls and pink shirt (an outfit I seem to recall being a favorite among a certain Doctor's companion), and their relaxed clothes, with Benedick's Superman-logo-emblazoned T-shirt.
The Bad: Hero's wardrobe. First off, I have no idea why Claudio is supposed to build up a "chaste virgin" ideal image of Hero when she dresses like that (I personally don't mind people showing skin, but it just doesn't fit with her character). Secondly, and more importantly, it's just plain ugly. Three completely different shades of pink in one outfit, with black-and-white polka dotted accessories... Were eighties fashion trends really that bad? Yikes.
4. SET DESIGN
The Good: I always enjoy minimalism in stage design, and yes, they make good use of lighting in lieu of fancy sets. The four giant columns on the rotating stage also provide nice convenient ways to represent hiding-places, or separate scenes that are supposed to be taking place in different locations. They did that well.
The Bad: The uniformity of the pillars did make it a bit hard to tell where the characters were actually supposed to BE, in certain scenes. But that's a minor thing.
5. SOUND & MUSIC
The Good: Again, the masquerade scene was priceless, with an epic rock track that the entire cast danced in unison to before the reveler's-scene dialogue started, was wonderful.
The remixes of "Sigh no more" (one sung by Balthazar, who strangely enough was actually playing on an old-fashioned guitar... and one, of course, a dance-mix version played on a boom box for the closing) were both great as well.
The Bad: The "nightclub" music, which I will expound on below.
The Godawful: Hero's funeral scene, in which the song is not sung by Balthazar, rather it's brought on afterwards in a boom box by Claudio, who has this godawful silent-acting solo bit where he plays it at an atrociously loud volume that had dad and I covering our ears, while he overacts a silent plan to shoot himself in an embarrassingly muggy fashion, until Hero comes out to stare at him, and he thinks he's seen a ghost so he drops the gun and runs off. Actually, that could be filed under the blocking problems below, but the music was what made a bad scene downright unbearable.
I can just picture Richard DiPrima (YSP's director) using this as evidence during one of his endless tirades on why Shakespeare plays shouldn't be modernized (I disagree with him overall on that point, but bullshit like this gives him a LOT of ammunition).
6. BLOCKING & DIRECTION
The Good: The physical comedy between B&B in their scenes together were pitch-perfect, and did such great things I can't even describe most of them. I literally just had to see it.
There was one almost-fourth-wall-breaking moment during the "There's a double-meaning in that!" bit, where Benedick, after each rationalization, stands facing the audience, grinning, and makes beckoning motions with his hands, as if he's looking to us for confirmation. I liked that.
The Bad: But, during the two "overhearing" scenes, there was WAY too much slapstick. I can tolerate a bit of slapstick to punctuate some of the revelations, but the true comedy in those scenes is supposed to be from Benedick's and Beatrice's respective reactions to the news, not from them horsing around trying to remain hidden and their pranksters trying to pretend to not see them.
I mean, yes, the slapstick was actually funny and it pleased the audience, but it distracted from the scene going on. I don't think the audience was even paying attention to some of the best lines in those scenes. It is a symptom that the director didn't trust the actors enough to bring actual comedy out of the lines themselves, which is a very bad sign.
The Worse: Here's a quote from the program: "Interestingly, the play text does not depict the scene of Margaret entertaining Borachio: it is for the director in the theatre to decide for us how plausible that wedding eve trick should appear." Personally, I think the best way to make that bit work is to not show it at all, and let the audience's imaginations fill it in. But, this one managed to fall short of even APT's abysmal pantomime, by staging it in a nightclub, by having Margaret's only accessory be the stolen veil, and, oh yeah, by filling the stage with so much smoke, so many strobe lights and so many extras running around that I'm wondering how even the ACTORS could tell what was going on, let alone the audience.
CONCLUSION
So, overall, marred by three sticking points (the overhearing scenes, the staged betrayal, and Hero's funeral scene), the rest of the play was very good, and the two leads were brilliant and made my day. I sincerely hope they televise it, or release a movie of it as they did with Tennant's Hamlet a couple years ago, so that more people can see it.
So, how was the play?
Well, read on and see.
BACKGROUND: For those who don't know, Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, set in Messina, Italy, in an unclear time (which for some reason has a language, culture and social customs identical to Elizabethan England, but oh well), and pioneered several of the best romantic-comedy Tropes that have been preserved through the ages.
Synopsis:
Don Pedro, a prince and military commander recently returned from a triumphant victory in battle, goes to Messina to visit his friend Leonato, who basically rules Messina. His sulking brother, Don John, accompanies him. Two of Don Pedro's honored young soldiers, Benedick and Claudio, get into romantic tangles while there.
Claudio meets and falls in love with Hero, the daughter of Leonato. Don Pedro assists him in his wooing, and all seems well.
Meanwhile, Beatrice (Hero's cousin) exchanges a flurry of insults with her long-time nemesis Benedick, which is customary every time they meet face to face. After a particularly nasty skirmish between them at a masquerade (where Claudio and Hero get set up in the meantime), Don Pedro decides to set the two of them up in a match.
The plan is as follows: Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato will arrange for Benedick to "overhear" them talking about how Beatrice actually is secretly in love with him, and uses their hatred of one another to conceal her crush on him. Meanwhile, Hero and her ladies-in-waiting Margaret and Ursula will perform a similar trick on Beatrice.
This trick is performed, and goes off flawlessly. The play could have just been that and end there, but no, things always have to go wrong. But they don't go wrong for Benedick and Beatrice, at least not directly.
Don Pedro's brother, Don John, is angry at Don Pedro and at the honors bestowed on Claudio's heroics, and decides to ruin Claudio's happiness. Together with his henchmen Borachio and Conrade, they concoct a scheme where, the night before Claudio's and Hero's wedding, Borachio will "court" Margaret (Hero's maid) in Hero's garments, and Don John will arrange for Claudio to witness this from a distance, to make him think that Hero has cheated on him the night before their wedding.
This trick, as well, is performed with expertise.
All seems lost, until the inept local constable, Dogberry (yes, that is the character's name), unwittingly uncovers the plot when his equally-inept night watchmen accidentally catch Borachio and Conrade discussing the plot. Borachio attempts to bring news of this to Leonato, but blathers so much and is unsure of his facts that Leonato has no idea what he's talking about (and does not believe that Dogberry knows either), and is unable to discern the truth before the wedding begins, at which point he leaves.
And, at the wedding with all the characters (besides Margaret) in attendance, Claudio rejects and accuses Hero, creating a rift between all parties involved. Hero faints, and Claudio, Don Pedro and Don John storm off. Leonato at first believes them, and accuses Hero, but Benedick intervenes, speculating that Don John may have tricked them. Leonato finally calms down, and a plot is hatched to pretend that Hero has died, in order to stir guilt within Claudio and attempt to flush out the trickery. Beatrice, outraged at Claudio's behavior, requests that Benedick will duel Claudio, and Benedick reluctantly agrees.
Finally, however, Dogberry and his night watchmen manage to bring the truth out, and after much wringing of hands, all ends well.
Don Pedro, a prince and military commander recently returned from a triumphant victory in battle, goes to Messina to visit his friend Leonato, who basically rules Messina. His sulking brother, Don John, accompanies him. Two of Don Pedro's honored young soldiers, Benedick and Claudio, get into romantic tangles while there.
Claudio meets and falls in love with Hero, the daughter of Leonato. Don Pedro assists him in his wooing, and all seems well.
Meanwhile, Beatrice (Hero's cousin) exchanges a flurry of insults with her long-time nemesis Benedick, which is customary every time they meet face to face. After a particularly nasty skirmish between them at a masquerade (where Claudio and Hero get set up in the meantime), Don Pedro decides to set the two of them up in a match.
The plan is as follows: Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato will arrange for Benedick to "overhear" them talking about how Beatrice actually is secretly in love with him, and uses their hatred of one another to conceal her crush on him. Meanwhile, Hero and her ladies-in-waiting Margaret and Ursula will perform a similar trick on Beatrice.
This trick is performed, and goes off flawlessly. The play could have just been that and end there, but no, things always have to go wrong. But they don't go wrong for Benedick and Beatrice, at least not directly.
Don Pedro's brother, Don John, is angry at Don Pedro and at the honors bestowed on Claudio's heroics, and decides to ruin Claudio's happiness. Together with his henchmen Borachio and Conrade, they concoct a scheme where, the night before Claudio's and Hero's wedding, Borachio will "court" Margaret (Hero's maid) in Hero's garments, and Don John will arrange for Claudio to witness this from a distance, to make him think that Hero has cheated on him the night before their wedding.
This trick, as well, is performed with expertise.
All seems lost, until the inept local constable, Dogberry (yes, that is the character's name), unwittingly uncovers the plot when his equally-inept night watchmen accidentally catch Borachio and Conrade discussing the plot. Borachio attempts to bring news of this to Leonato, but blathers so much and is unsure of his facts that Leonato has no idea what he's talking about (and does not believe that Dogberry knows either), and is unable to discern the truth before the wedding begins, at which point he leaves.
And, at the wedding with all the characters (besides Margaret) in attendance, Claudio rejects and accuses Hero, creating a rift between all parties involved. Hero faints, and Claudio, Don Pedro and Don John storm off. Leonato at first believes them, and accuses Hero, but Benedick intervenes, speculating that Don John may have tricked them. Leonato finally calms down, and a plot is hatched to pretend that Hero has died, in order to stir guilt within Claudio and attempt to flush out the trickery. Beatrice, outraged at Claudio's behavior, requests that Benedick will duel Claudio, and Benedick reluctantly agrees.
Finally, however, Dogberry and his night watchmen manage to bring the truth out, and after much wringing of hands, all ends well.
Now, this review will contain spoilers as well, and there are a few things referenced here that are not mentioned in the plot summary above, so it may confuse people who are unfamiliar. If you wish to get a full sense of the play, I suggest you rent Kenneth Branagh's movie version, which is one of the better film adaptations of Shakespeare ever (not much competition, but it is quite good), or watch MY version when I finally get to upload it to YouTube.
But, here we go:
Review: The Tennant/Tate Much Ado About Nothing
Even after reading the director's note in the program, I'm still not entirely sure why they chose to set Much Ado About Nothing in 1980s Gibraltar... though granted, the program did justify it, given Gibraltar's reputation as a paradise for off-duty military guys, and it gave an opportunity for some "interesting" costume choices, which I will discuss in a moment. But, I've never been entirely opposed to modernization, and overall they made it work, so I don't fault them for it.
The set is centered around a revolving stage with four enormous pillars in a row on it. This can be turned to separate one part of a scene from another, and allowed some interesting set design.
The problem is, I'm getting unfocused. So much of it was awesome, but there were a litany of problems as well, and I can't quite figure out in what order to list them and still form a coherent narrative, so let me list some aspects of the production, and the good and bad elements.
1. CASTING & CHARACTER INTERPRETATION
The Best: The Doctor and Donna as Benedick and Beatrice. That is dream casting, and they pull it off, for the most part, flawlessly. They lived up to my impossibly high expectations, just bouncing off each other and crashing into each other. I did grow somewhat tired during the two "overhearing" scenes (see below), but during their scenes together, they were perfect. They played Benedick and Beatrice as two overgrown children stuck in the "Ew, gross, cooties!" stage, which is perfect. I knew I wouldn't be able to recommend this highly enough, and I was right.
The Good: The Watch were great, especially with their new context (see the costume design below). Don Pedro was endearing. Leonato was great, and he and Innogen (see below) had some great sneaky moments with the Hero's-fake-death bit.
The Miscellaneous: I always keep a watch out for how each production plays Don Pedro's proposal to Beatrice: Is it serious? Joking? Do they have a difference of opinion? Well, in this version, the proposal is serious, but Beatrice doesn't think so, and she laughs uproariously until she catches sight of his face, at which point she trails off, and then laughs awkwardly and backpedals. I like that element, though I think Don Pedro's reaction is a bit sour (he plays this as a reason for his prank on Benedick and Beatrice, and seems to be using it as revenge for humiliation). I would have liked him to be a bit more grounded and self-effaced, but he makes it work.
The Bad: Claudio. Look, all you theatre directors out there: I realize it's hard to make Claudio likeable, but you could at least TRY, okay? In this one, he actually looks like he's about to strangle Hero and even places his fingers on her throat during the aborted wedding scene. He switches gears way too easily during the post-wedding confrontation scene, and doesn't seem to try to tie the different elements together.
Also, this is a relatively minor nitpick, but I thought we had moved past making villains "vaguely effeminate." But apparently not, since Don John's resentment seems to stem from how badly gays are treated in the military. Gee, an effeminate villain, who'da thunk it?
2. REIMAGININGS AND MODERNIZATIONS
The Good: Dogberry, in this version, is a drill sergeant, and the Prince's Watch is a cross between the coast guard and mall cops, consisting of a pair of aging soldiers. Dogberry is priceless in his military body language, and how he uses it.
In addition, Benedick's first entrance, when he comes in behind the others driving a golf cart and honking loudly, is priceless, as is the scene where he attempts to write a song for Beatrice... by typing on an electric piano-keyboard.
The Uncertain: Antonio, Hero's uncle, has been changed to "Innogen," Leonato's wife and Hero's mother. It was a trifle startling, but they made it work, especially during the "I loved my niecechild, and she's dead!" scene.
The Bad: Claudio's stag party, and Hero's bachelorette party. Again, I realize Claudio isn't supposed to be really fair, but we're supposed to believe he could have a stripper on his lap for half the night and still be pissed about what he thinks he sees? And it would have been so easy to lend more depth of character if they'd had him turn down the gift, but no... and also, if Hero is supposed to be this chaste virgin, would she really have a beefcake dancer?
Also, minor nitpick: One side effect of changing Antonio to Innogen is that Antonio's bit at the masquerade ("At a word, I am not!") has to play out differently. And how they chose to do this was: To give his lines to "Angelo," a servant in Leonato's household... and his wife is Ursula, a middle-aged wife who comes to drag him away from the festivities with a stern and harsh, "I know you well enough, you are my husband!" I half-expected her to start brandishing a rolling pin.
3. COSTUMES
The Best: The masquerade. Oh dear lord, the masquerade. You will not believe what Benedick and Beatrice wear in the masquerade. David Tennant in drag. In costume as a hooker, with fishnet stockings, a jean miniskirt, shiny red boots and a purple top with a tiny black sequined jacket, and a blonde wig, large sunglasses... and what looked from the audience like a pig nose, for some reason. Meanwhile, Catherine Tate comes to the masquerade in a fancy black suit. A man's suit, to be exact, with trousers, shoes, white shirt, black jacket and black necktie, all of which are a good four sizes too big for her, and sunglasses to complete the look. Seeing those two trade the "Will you not tell me who told you so?" lines in those getups, oh dear lord it was priceless.
The Good: Again, Dogberry as a drill sergeant, the night watchmen in coast guard jackets, and the sailors' uniforms on Don Pedro's military are all wonderful.
Benedick's and Beatrice's regular outfits are good too... Benedick's sailor uniform and Beatrice's blue overalls and pink shirt (an outfit I seem to recall being a favorite among a certain Doctor's companion), and their relaxed clothes, with Benedick's Superman-logo-emblazoned T-shirt.
The Bad: Hero's wardrobe. First off, I have no idea why Claudio is supposed to build up a "chaste virgin" ideal image of Hero when she dresses like that (I personally don't mind people showing skin, but it just doesn't fit with her character). Secondly, and more importantly, it's just plain ugly. Three completely different shades of pink in one outfit, with black-and-white polka dotted accessories... Were eighties fashion trends really that bad? Yikes.
4. SET DESIGN
The Good: I always enjoy minimalism in stage design, and yes, they make good use of lighting in lieu of fancy sets. The four giant columns on the rotating stage also provide nice convenient ways to represent hiding-places, or separate scenes that are supposed to be taking place in different locations. They did that well.
The Bad: The uniformity of the pillars did make it a bit hard to tell where the characters were actually supposed to BE, in certain scenes. But that's a minor thing.
5. SOUND & MUSIC
The Good: Again, the masquerade scene was priceless, with an epic rock track that the entire cast danced in unison to before the reveler's-scene dialogue started, was wonderful.
The remixes of "Sigh no more" (one sung by Balthazar, who strangely enough was actually playing on an old-fashioned guitar... and one, of course, a dance-mix version played on a boom box for the closing) were both great as well.
The Bad: The "nightclub" music, which I will expound on below.
The Godawful: Hero's funeral scene, in which the song is not sung by Balthazar, rather it's brought on afterwards in a boom box by Claudio, who has this godawful silent-acting solo bit where he plays it at an atrociously loud volume that had dad and I covering our ears, while he overacts a silent plan to shoot himself in an embarrassingly muggy fashion, until Hero comes out to stare at him, and he thinks he's seen a ghost so he drops the gun and runs off. Actually, that could be filed under the blocking problems below, but the music was what made a bad scene downright unbearable.
I can just picture Richard DiPrima (YSP's director) using this as evidence during one of his endless tirades on why Shakespeare plays shouldn't be modernized (I disagree with him overall on that point, but bullshit like this gives him a LOT of ammunition).
6. BLOCKING & DIRECTION
The Good: The physical comedy between B&B in their scenes together were pitch-perfect, and did such great things I can't even describe most of them. I literally just had to see it.
There was one almost-fourth-wall-breaking moment during the "There's a double-meaning in that!" bit, where Benedick, after each rationalization, stands facing the audience, grinning, and makes beckoning motions with his hands, as if he's looking to us for confirmation. I liked that.
The Bad: But, during the two "overhearing" scenes, there was WAY too much slapstick. I can tolerate a bit of slapstick to punctuate some of the revelations, but the true comedy in those scenes is supposed to be from Benedick's and Beatrice's respective reactions to the news, not from them horsing around trying to remain hidden and their pranksters trying to pretend to not see them.
I mean, yes, the slapstick was actually funny and it pleased the audience, but it distracted from the scene going on. I don't think the audience was even paying attention to some of the best lines in those scenes. It is a symptom that the director didn't trust the actors enough to bring actual comedy out of the lines themselves, which is a very bad sign.
The Worse: Here's a quote from the program: "Interestingly, the play text does not depict the scene of Margaret entertaining Borachio: it is for the director in the theatre to decide for us how plausible that wedding eve trick should appear." Personally, I think the best way to make that bit work is to not show it at all, and let the audience's imaginations fill it in. But, this one managed to fall short of even APT's abysmal pantomime, by staging it in a nightclub, by having Margaret's only accessory be the stolen veil, and, oh yeah, by filling the stage with so much smoke, so many strobe lights and so many extras running around that I'm wondering how even the ACTORS could tell what was going on, let alone the audience.
CONCLUSION
So, overall, marred by three sticking points (the overhearing scenes, the staged betrayal, and Hero's funeral scene), the rest of the play was very good, and the two leads were brilliant and made my day. I sincerely hope they televise it, or release a movie of it as they did with Tennant's Hamlet a couple years ago, so that more people can see it.
