I am not the romantic – by that I mean I dislike most romantic comedies and would rather watch an action movie for a first date rather than have to suffer through cliché loved-up teenagers. So, it is quite surprising that I think I have found my one true love of this genre, Much Ado About Nothing.
Written between 1598 and 1599 this play contrasts two couples: Hero and Claudio who fall in love with each other and delight in their new emotions and the main couple, Beatrice and Benedick who you would say ‘detest’ love and marriage so much they have to be ‘tricked’ into falling for each other. Yes, the play does end happily ever after but the way we get there is sheer chaos at points and a delight.
Reading the play brought back all the feelings I had when I watched it the first time starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate; however the words themselves seem to have their own spark and on the page I felt myself unable to stop smiling at the delight of reading this play.
I am going to make a personal statement: IF I ever was to marry, I’d want my relationship to mirror the plot of Beatrice and Benedick because they have the most fun and what I believe as the most real relationship. Able to keep each other in check but know above all that they are loved.
Now because I have seen David Tennant and Catherine Tate’s version I chose to
watch the Shakespeare Globe Live version starring Charles Edwards a Benedick and Eve Best as Beatrice. I have previously been exposed to Charles in Murder Rooms: The True Story of Sherlock Holmes and loved his portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle, so to see him perform Shakespeare was a sheer delight.
What I loved about this play was that they took it back to its original look and
costumes which were a magnificent sight to behold as I have only ever experienced Shakespeare in a modern theatre or, in the case I saw Julius Ceaser, in a warehouse.
Charles and Eve’s chemistry as Benedick and Beatrice is fantastic. They bounce off
each other with delight as they spar back and forth and will certainly have me going back for another viewing and reading of the play.
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