About the Show

The Globe presents Shakespeare's comedy about misunderstandings, courtships and love.

Set on the eve of WWII's end, Leonata (usually Leonato) and her daughters reopen their palazzo for a celebration to welcome soldiers back from the war.

Lovers Hero & Claudio and singletons Beatrice & Benedick have their limits tested like never before in a wild mix of hijinx and mischievous plots.

Lucy Bailey returns to the Globe to direct this summertime production of Shakespeare's farce.

Critic Reviews (9)

Bailey’s joyful production of Shakespeare’s play glows with the warmth of the Italian sun. This is a smart, stylish, grown-up staging, and the most purely pleasurable evening I’ve had at the Globe in yonks.
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Lucy Bailey’s production is a thoroughly elegant one. A gender-reversed Leonata (Katy Stephens) gives an especially strong performance, alongside Davis and Phelps, whose verbal swordplay sparkles with intelligence and mischief.
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Defined by its attention to detail, it balances directorial innovation with actorly inspiration. Some of the ‘business’ drags ... though the organised chaos of the incompetent night watchmen in the second half is a joy.
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In a production by Lucy Bailey that elegantly feminises some of the power structures, Katy Stephens is a standout. The sense of fun, finally, is all the more infectious for having been tested ... [in a] production that embraces this sweet and sour play’s contradictions with a forgiving smile on its face.
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The second act’s sickly lurch into tragedy comes as a shock ... the darkness doesn't quite land. It's a memorable start to the summer season, full of music and mayhem in equal measure.
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This is a comedy and a hugely satisfying one at that. The darker interpretation here of some aspects of the text serves to throw the funny stuff into such relief that it soars. This Much Ado About Nothing is as sparkling and heady as an extra dry prosecco: it's a real treat.
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The overall breezy tone means that the sudden shifts into darkness feels more marked. But this darkness is quickly banished ... in a production intent on spreading good cheer and warm feeling, a little sunshine after a hard winter.
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Much of the energy of Shakespeare’s script comes from the fact that the characters are decompressing after a war, and Bailey ensures that we do not forget this, even as we get whirled up in the absurdity. Bailey has marked herself out through her inspirational collaborations with designers and this is no exception.
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Trailer

Creative team

Shakespeare's Globe (UK)