MUCH ADO and BETRAYAL

     With the marathon of the Duke in London Drama Programs and theatre daily, I have to shorten my reviews in the summer.
     MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at Shakespeare's Globe. Charles Edwards was excellent as Benedick. I had trouble hearing Eve Best. Dogberry was tedious. The rest of the cast was good, but not great. There was one major flaw in the production: it was all played as if everyone were front and center as in a proscenium theatre which meant that the 1/3 of the audience at the sides was ignored all night. A bit alienating. The production, like many at the Globe, didn't have an idea in its head.
     Harold Pinter's BETRAYAL is a play that seems to change with every cast that performs it. In this case. Kristen Scott-Thomas made more out of the often enigmatic EMMA than any other actress I have seen in the part. Ben Miles was very good as Robert, Emma's husband and for me the pivotal character in the work. Here is a man who allows his wife to continue to sleep with his best friend for years. Douglas Henshall as the somewhat clueless lover seemed lost with Pinter's language which didn't seem natural at all as he spoke it. Henshall is Scottish and may not have the same speech rhythms. His speaking seemed too monotone to me. The production was good enough to remind me what a fascinating play this is.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Shakespeare's Globe. June 27, 2011. BETRAYAL. Comedy Theatre, June 28, 2011.