A new play, based on an Oscar winning film that celebrates
the works of Shakespeare, produced by Disney.
It’s a match made in theatrical heaven, right?
Following the same fictional narrative as the film, Shakespeare In Love presents a young
Will (the handsome Tom Bateman) suffering from writers block – that is, until
he meets his muse in the form of noblewoman Viola De Lesseps (the amusing Lucy
Briggs-Owen). Together they strike up a
forbidden romance that forms the backbone to arguably his best known work,
Romeo and Juliet.
As one character notes during a rehearsal scene for the play
(within the play), “this is not just entertainment, it’s art”. In fact, for Shakespeare In Love, the opposite is true. As you’d expect from Disney, this is light-hearted
fluff that’s pure entertainment with little depth. The script is the epitome of trite, scraping
the surface of Shakespeare’s oeuvre for countless references and direct quotes
that result only in embarrassed groans from the audience. Much of the play’s humour stems from this
snigger-worthy irony: poking fun at Shakespeare is simply too easy. And like in the film, the Marlovian theory that Christopher Marlowe assisted Shakespeare is perhaps hard to swallow.
It’s not helped by a cast that insist on hammy over-acting,
as if ridiculing the RSC school of drama.
With all the silliness of the script the play often descends into
pantomime, with cartoonish action, little depth of emotion and a lot of cross
dressing. This is a play where the
second act awkwardly opens to the sound of bawdy sex noises; a play where the most
celebrated on-stage actor is a dog. The
actual Shakespeare scenes are well acted, which makes you wish the cast would
just put on one of his classics instead.
This, however, is the cynic’s view. If you can embrace the camp, then Shakespeare In Love becomes a highly
enjoyable piece of feel-good fluff. The
constant references do offer some clever nods and witticisms, weaving a simple
tale that draws in the best of the Bard’s work.
This is a celebration of his writing, with all the tropes and
conventions we’ve come to admire – there’s even a song and dance at the
end. The acting might be over the top,
but the cast provide plenty of laughs whether from Anna Carteret’s stern yet underused Queen
Elizabeth, Doug Rao’s foppish Ned Alleyn, or Paul Chahidi’s bumbling
Henslowe. There are also plenty of
period touches, from the set design that replicates the Rose Theatre and
transports us from backstage to onstage action, to the onstage musicians that
provide suitably courtly music, and dance captain Sandy Murray jigging his away
across the stage to set various props. The
play might be mindless, but it’s incredibly easy to sit back and let it all
wash over you like a big blockbuster theatrical hug, making up for its lack of affectation
with amusement and charm.
Oh, and did I mention there’s a dog?
3/5
Watch: Shakespeare In
Love runs at the Noel Coward Theatre until 25th October.
A massive thank you to the team at Official Theatre for the ticket, visit their site here.
A massive thank you to the team at Official Theatre for the ticket, visit their site here.
