Bell Shakespeare.

Experience Shakespeare’s most loved romantic comedy. With its unique charm and quick wit, Bell Shakespeare’s production of Much Ado About Nothing takes place in Sicily in the 1950’s against a backdrop of iron rules of behavior, family pride, vendettas and the notion of male honour.

Claudio and Hero are deeply in love. Beatrice and Benedick are deeply in denial. All is well. Then Claudio humiliates Hero. Hero has a fainting attack and pretends to die. And Beatrice and Benedick join forces with a vengeance. And that’s just up to the interval.

If it sounds complicated, well, that’s love for you – a trip down the aisle is never a straight one. When you delve into other people’s relationships you soon learn the real cost of commitment – what we will do and what we won’t do for that capricious and often elusive state of love.

John Bell directs this exuberant comedy with a lightness of touch and a fantastic cast including Blazey Best, Toby Schmitz, Max Gillies and Tony Llewellyn-Jones.

Running time Approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, including one interval

Watch the Q&A with Toby Schmitz

Claudio loves Hero. He is villainously misled into believing she is unfaithful. He denounces her in the church at their wedding: she faints, is thought dead, but recovers to be proved innocent by a chance discovery made by the local constable.

Hero’s cousin, Beatrice, thinks herself a confirmed spinster. Benedick proclaims himself a confirmed bachelor. Their verbal sparring is a mask for their true feelings for each other. Their friends trick them into proclaiming their mutual affection and the two pairs of lovers go dancing into marriage.

BY William Shakespeare
DIRECTED BY John Bell
DESIGNER Stephen Curtis
LIGHTING DESIGNER Matt Scott
COMPOSER Alan John
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR Gavin Robins
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Imara Savage

WITH
Robert Alexander
Blazey Best
Alexandra Fisher
Max Gillies
Sean Hawkins
Tony Llewellyn-Jones
Nathan Lovejoy
Arky Michael
Megan O’Connell
Sean O’Shea
Tyran Parke
Lizzie Schebesta
Toby Schmitz
Andrew Tighe
Matthew Walker

“Each of Shakespeare’s comedies has a unique charm; to my mind Much Ado About Nothing is the most earthy and warm-hearted. Here there are no enchanted forests or amazing coincidences, just the hammer and tongs of gender politics with all their attendant rages and hilarity.

The acerbic wit and feisty intelligence of Beatrice and Benedick make them two of Shakespeare’s most irresistible characters. With a first-rate acting ensemble and creative team, I look forward to presenting to you one of the pinnacles of romantic comedy.” - John Bell