RSC Friends

Playing Love’s Labour’s Won as a sequel to Love’s Labour’s Lost creates delightful puzzles for the audience, opening up new parallels and disparities.Setting the latter play at the end of World War One helps to explain the malice and misanthropy of Don John, portrayed here as a damaged returning soldier. Berowne/Rosaline are transmuted into a Benedick/Beatrice, a plausible continuation of their relationship and played with such wit and verve by Edward Bennett and Michelle Terry. A further transformation is Nick Haverson’s Costard/Dogberry, comic creations that sees its full flowering in the inspired slapstick of the second play. It reduced the audience to gales of laughter.

Once again, the magnificent, elaborate sets which achieved seamless scene changes must be mentioned along with Nigel Hess’s music delivered by an amazingly musical cast.