Royal Shakespeare Theatre, RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon
Another unfamiliar play; but this is Stratford, and potted, pre-digested anything about Shakespeare is easy to find. The story is slight - silly men renounce wine, women, food and sleep for three years (WTF?). The most worldly of them thinks this is a crock, but goes along with it. Then, unexpectedly, temptation arrives in the form of four women. Big surprise. The blokes are smitten. Again, big surprise. Follows a section stolen from Cosi Fan Tutte, involving dressing up as Russians to test the affections of the ladies, but with the men in disguise directing their affections towards another than the one they really favour. You can't make this stuff up. Anyway, after a bit of this shenanigans, everyone is paired up, but the men agree to wait a year, to prove the mettle of their love. A more-or-less happy ending.
Except ...
This is England in 2014 - the centenary of WWI. References to the Great War are everywhere. RSC is staging this play, in company with Love's Labour's Won (aka Much Ado About Nothing - more on that to come). Both are set in Edwardian times, with LLL taking place immediately before the onset of war. When the men return on stage to take their leave for their year of exile, they are in uniform. In the background, just visible, are the red poppies of Flanders field. I found this moment intensely moving - we know what is coming, in a way that these young, innocent, unworldly men do not.
The play is delightfully performed, with a light and dexterous touch, and played for the laughs in the script. The verse is well spoken - which holds for all the plays web see in Stratford - so that the result is very intelligible, sounding like natural speech. A lot of fun.
I love that twist at the end. Wow.
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