Much Ado About Nothing

Written by William Shakespeare
Performed in English
1998

One of Shakespeare’s best loved comedies, Much Ado About Nothing, tells the stories of two couples. Claudio and Hero are madly in love and agree to marry. Benedick and Beatrice swear that they despise love and treat each other with disdain.

Benedick and Beatrice’s friends can see through their ‘merry war’ of wit and realise that they are ideally suited for each other. They plot to bring them together. However, this tale of secret love, courtship and marriage is intertwined with a darker side of Shakespeare’s Messina, where warfare, deception and serious mischief prevail.

The first performance of Much Ado About Nothing was on 12th February 1998 at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham.

Produced by Cheek by Jowl. Co-produced by Théâtre National de Bretagne and Le Maillon Théâtre de Strasbourg.

“Bold, thoughtful and almost clinical reading of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy”
The New York Times

Cast and creative team

Cast

Name	Character
Stephen Mangan	Don Pedro
Paul Goodwin	Don Juan
Bohdan Poraj	Claudio
Matthew Macfadyen	Benedick
Andrew Price	Balthasar/Friar Francis/First Watchman
Justin Salinger	Borachio
Mark Lacey	Conrade
Riz Abbasi	Messenger/Second Watchman
Raad Rawi	Leonato
Ann Firbank	Ursula
Sarita Choudhary	Hero
Saskia Reeves	Beatrice
Zoe Aldrich	Margaret/Sexton
Derek Hutchinson	Dogberry
Sam Beazley	Verges

Creative Team

Role	Name
Director	Declan Donnellan
Designer	Nick Ormerod
Lighting Designer	Judith Greenwood
Movement Director	Jane Gibson
Composer and Music Director	Paddy Cunneen
Assistant Director	Dan Jemmett
Accent Coach	Joan Washington
Voice Coach	Patsy Rosenburg
Company Stage Manager	Simon Sturgess
Production Manager	Anthony Alderson
Wardrobe Manager	Fiona McCann
Deputy Stage Manager	Mike Draper

Previous performances

Previous Performances

Date	Location
6 June–6 August 1998	London, Playhouse Theatre, UK
26–27 May 1998	Moscow, Maly Theatre, Russia
20–22 May 1998	Stockholm, Dramaten, Sweden
11–16 May 1998	Reckinghausen, Vestlandhalle, Germany
4–7 May 1998	Strasbourg, Le Maillon Théâtre, France
20–28 April 1998	Rennes, Theatre Nacional de Bretagne, France
25 March–6 April 1998	New York, Majestic Theatre, USA
14–16 March 1998	Barcelona, Mercat de les Flors, Spain
10–13 March 1998	Darlington, Civic Theatre, UK
3–9 March 1998	Sheffield, Lyceum Theatre, UK
24 February–1 March 1998	Bath, Theatre Royal, UK
17–23 February 1998	Cambridge, Cambridge Arts Theatre, UK
12–16 February 1998	Cheltenham, Everyman Theatre, UK

Reviews

“Bold, thoughtful and almost clinical reading of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy…Along with the elegant inventiveness of staging that has become its trademark, Cheek by Jowl always provides a careful interpretive focus that forces you to reconsider familiar classics.”
The New York Times

“Bubbles over with generosity, theatricality and wit.”
The Observer

“Let me be quite clear: Cheek by Jowl’s Much Ado About Nothing is wonderful. Not only is it constantly surprising and extraordinarily moving, it is full of wonder… You simply feel as if you drink in the play’s living, breathing passion.”
The Independent

“The staging is lucid and fluid , with every member of the ensemble gainfully employed in the task of telling the sex war comedy in a manner that is choreographed without being showy, as tightly bound as a corset and yet still pulsating with life.”
Time Out