Much Ado About Nothing

The latest release in the continuing series of Shakespeare's works from the restored Globe Theatre in London is Jeremy Herrin's 2011 staging of the comedy famous for the rapier-sharp bickering of Beatrice and Benedick—destined, of course, to end in their marriage. But the play also features a distinctly dark side in the romance of a second couple, Hero and Claudio, whose trip to the altar is temporarily derailed by the cruel machinations of the wickedly wily Don John—which can only be overcome by Hero's feigned death. In this production, surprisingly, the more dramatic elements come off best; the second-act sequence in which Claudio (Philip Cumbus) brutally humiliates Hero (Ony Uhiara) for her supposed infidelity boasts real power as Cumbus performs it with genuine ferocity. But the humorous aspects are a bit marred by the exaggeration and mugging so characteristic of Globe productions. Here, all of the material involving the constable Dogberry (Paul Hunter) comes off like an overly broad TV sketch, and even Beatrice and Benedick (Eve Best, Charles Edwards) engage too often in overdrawn pauses and bits of business more suitable to sitcoms. Those collecting the entire run of Globe releases will definitely want to add this one, which for others is a strong optional purchase. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)