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Bear with me: Sun Bear @ParkTheatre

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If The Light House is an uplifting tale of survival, Sarah Richardson’s Sun Bear gives a contrasting take on this. Sarah plays Katy. We’re introduced to Katy as she runs through a list of pet office peeves with her endlessly perky coworkers, particularly about coworkers stealing her pens. It’s a hilarious opening monologue that would have you wishing you had her as a coworker to help relieve you from the boredom of petty office politics.  But something is not quite right in the perfect petty office, where people work together well. And that is her. And despite her protesting that she is fine, the pet peeves and the outbursts are becoming more frequent. As the piece progresses, maybe the problem lies in a past relationship, where Katy had to be home by a particular hour, not stay out late with office colleagues and not be drunk enough not to answer his calls. Perhaps the perky office colleagues are trying to help, and perhaps Katy is trying to reach out for help. It has simple staging

Be a clown: Much Ado About Nothing @anticdispo

Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is set in rural France in the aftermath of World War II in this lively interpretation by Antic Disposition. The war may be over but the battle of the sexes and battle over rivalries is just about to begin. It’s currently playing at Grays Inn Hall. 

Love gone wrong, mistaken identity and a infidelity make up this piece. And there’s not a moment to lose in this adaption that moves through the story at a fast pace with music, mirth and merriment. And with a nod to the physical comedy of Jacques Tati, there’s much clowning about too in this company consisting of English and French actors.

As the unlikely lovers, Nicholas Osmond as Benedick and Chiraz Aïch as Béatrice strike the right balance with the physical and verbal humour of the piece. Alfie Webster makes the most of the brief yet dark character Don John who sets in motion much of the drama. 

Alexander Varey and Florian’s Andersen are also a delight as the intense young lovers, Claudio and Hero.

The piece has been touring the UK and France before arriving in London. Gray’s Inn was where Shakespeare himself performed.  But the stuffy atmosphere of the place seems to stifle the mood and mirth at times. And the sightlines aren’t so great either with its very long traverse staging. You get a sense that to  appreciate this production, it would be better to see it in an outdoor setting. Too bad it isn’t staged that way for its London stopover. Even if it meant competing with noise, bad weather and nasty pigeons. 

Still it’s evocative, classy and funny enough to be a delightful evening...   Directed by Ben Horslen and John Risebero, Much Ado About Nothing is at Gray’s Inn Hall until 1 September. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photos by Scott Rylander

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