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Gossip, sexual intrigue and multiple misundestandings abound in Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing, so it’s hardly surprising that director Paul Garnault has decided to give his production just a hint of the fevered speculation found in today’s celeb heavy magazines, like Hello and OK. “The play begins with soldiers coming back from a war and swiftly moves into an atmosphere reminscent of the 1960’s Summer Of Love” he explains. “It struck a chord for me, the idea of these men returning from the war in Vietnam, say, to a world dominated by the shallow and often trivial gossip generated by much of the media - and, of course, what is topical down at the local pub.” Enter Don Jon (played by Ebbw Vale born actor Griff Jameson), a Max Clifford style operator waiting for the perfect press relations opportunity and a cast of young singletons on the brink of marriage (or avoiding it) and the parallels to much contemporary society begin to become apparent. A versatile backdrop for the show will be provided by Sixties inspired costumes and a set made up of large transparent panels decorated with “pages” from gossip columns. The cast includes WAC regulars such as Abigail Hopkins, the daughter of Oscar winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins, who will be providing some of the music for the show as well as having a sex change - her role is usually played by a man, but for this production “he” will become a “she” - and Charlotte Rogers, from Swansea, whose character Beatrice is a feisty independent woman keeping her man Benedict (played by the show’s director Paul Garnault) very much on his toes with her witty repartee. Newcomers are two actors originally from Barry: David Marshallsea and Zoe Davies and hot from New York where he trained and worked as an actor is Cardiff-born Dean Rehman. “The great thing about performing outdoors is the freedom it gives actors and the audience to enjoy what is going on,” adds Paul. “We get rained on as much as the audience. They are presented with a show that is very much focused on the characters and the story. The actors have to work with what is around them - quite literally last year when we had a pigeon very determined on staying centre stage during a key dramatic moment. But our audiences are very loyal and they come back year after year. We even have people arranging their holidays around our tour dates.” Much Ado About Nothing will preview at Llancaich Fawr, Nelson, on July 8th and the tour will finish with a performance at Manorbier Castle, West Wales, on August 14th. * Full details of the tour, including tour list and start times, can be found on the company website: www. actors-online.com BOX OFFICE: 029 20852312 Ticket prices: £8.50 (£6.50) All performances start at 7pm prompt. Gates will open at 6.30pm “electrifying..brillliantly characterised” (The Stage, 2004) |
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Wednesday, June 23, 2004 |
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