UK Theatre Network

As I left Wyndham’s Theatre I passed the stage door where a group of young girls, screaming with excitement, were being kept behind barriers as they waited in anticipation for the stars of the show to emerge.

And this was for a play by Shakespeare!

But this is no ordinary Shakespeare play. Heading the cast is former Dr Who, David Tennant, whose latest time travelling spans 500 years as he brings one of the Bard’s best known comedies kicking and screaming into the 21^st century.

Slick, stylish and sophisticated, director Josie Rourke’s production is fresh and bang up-to-date, and its fashions, funky music and beautiful young men (and women), set in a bright and colourful villa, will appeal to the youngest of theatregoers. As will the delivery of its dialogue. For although the central plot – that of tricking Beatrice and Benedick into falling in love despite themselves – is written mainly in verse, it sounds like any modern play.

Tennant, as Benedick, makes a splendid entry – on a golf buggy with horn blasting and flags flying, and has some fine comic moments such as when, while eavesdropping, he accidentally puts his hand in a pot of paint and proceeds to cover himself in it.

But no-one can outshine his co-star Catherine Tate, whose role as Beatrice is a comedic tour de force - from her sulky tomboy stances and occasional mimicry to one scene which sees her suspended in mid-air. Hilarious!

With such a high profile pair, it’s difficult to single out any other cast members, but it’s certainly not a two-hander and the whole company must be congratulated for its part in presenting a memorable production.