Lorna Irvine is impressed with Bard in the Botanics' 'tangy summer cocktail'.
Icona Pop's I Don't Care blasting out heralds the start of a fun, irreverent spin on Shakespeare's comedy drama about gossip, manipulation and not believing all that you hear.
In this instance, director Gordon Barr has shifted the focus from more tragic aspects—Hero's undoing is not given much build-up for example—the better to create a bawdy modern morality tale in which Beatrice's character is instead swapped for a gay man: Bertram, linked with Benedick.
This concept more than pays off. Robert Elkin's Bertram is wonderful: his every ''talk to the hand'' gesture and flounce a pleasure to watch. Indeed, his bitchy, gossipy character slowly unfolds, and a more thoughtful, complex and vulnerable man emerges. Co-star James Ronan as Benedick is a good match, rolling his eyes, making pronouncements on staying single and denying his sexuality in his Beavis and Butthead t-shirt, particularly coming into his own during the physical comedy of the eavesdropping scenes, but Elkin is the very heart and soul of the piece. You simply cannot take your eyes off him.
With the coterie of women like a hen party looking for a nightclub to crash (a little one-note, sadly) and leery soldiers, this won't be everyone's idea of the Bard, but kudos to Barr for creating something fresh and lively.
Young Claudio, engagingly played by Rory Fairbairn in his debut for Bard, also adds a nice pathos to the play, full of wounded bitterness—it would be good to see more emphasis on the sadness implicit in his character, but as the other elements work so well, it is only a small quibble.
Giggy Argo's gorgeous set, the choreography by Stephen Arden and Carys Hobbs' costumes also deserve a shout out, all contributing to a tangy summer cocktail.
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