The Collector Earl’s Garden at Arundel Castle is a magnificent setting for any occasion, the ornamental fountains, the rare and exotic plants, the gentle lawns bordered with bright summer blooms, an Inigo Jones folly and the gothic backdrop of the cathedral to boot.
What better place for an evening of al fresco Shakespeare?
The trouble is, with the evenings drawing in, once the light goes (and fair dos, the sunset was lovely) you really do just have the play to look at.
That’s not to say that GB Theatre Company did such a bad job, though their claim to be "Britain’s finest professional Shakespearian actors" was certainly artistic licence.
They weren’t best served either by direction that kept the stage bare for too long between scenes and a sound system that magnified the approach of even the most dainty-footed characters long before they got up onto the rostra to deliver their lines.
Much Ado About Nothing is not one of Shakespeare’s most complex plays.
Even so, it’s never enough just to speak the speech and hope that the language and the surroundings will magically conjoin to create meaning.
But the garden was a very pretty spot for a picnic.
Two stars
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