"Much Ado About Nothing". Jesus College Shakespeare Project
I’ve seen Much Ado About Nothing done in so many different ways over the years: transported to the 60s, the 80s, the 20s; set in a luxury hotel, a European football stadium, an Indian palace, a girls’ boarding school, and a broken train in the Mexican revolution. I’ve even, if you can believe this, seen it set in Messina in the 1590s. No matter how far-fetched the concept, the play is always (well, nearly always) enriched, showing a new side of itself, like a revolving vase. But I’ve never seen it done like this. Peter Sutton has linked Shakespeare’s comedy of masked balls, visiting amorous army officers, and bright young women, to its most natural counterpart of all: Jane Austen. Not only is it a connection that was hiding in plain sight, it’s also a fitting way to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth. So, unusually for a JCSP (Jesus College Shakespeare Project) production, this Much Ado has a big costume budget, with Don Pedro and his merry men in the smart red jackets...
