Sir Peter Hall production of Love's Labour's Lost at Kingston's Rose theatre was 'an ode to the poetry of Shakespeare's writing.'

Devoid of props or staging, Sir Peter Hall’s production of Love’s Labour’s Lost at Kingston’s Rose theatre, was an ode to the poetry of Shakespeare’s writing.

With a stage stripped bare to force the actors and the audience to concentrate on Shakespeare’s words, Sir Peter has managed to make the prose and the message of the play more powerful.

The story concentrates on the vows of celibacy made by four noblemen, and the events that occur after they have sworn off the company of women only to be faced with the arrival of a glamorous princess and her friends. From the moment the ladies arrive, the pledges of the four men are made nonsense of by their conversations surrounding seduction and wantonness.

Arguably it was Peter Bowles as Don Armado who stole the award for best performance of the night, as he managed to portray this absurd character with the perfect audacity. But the relentless focus on the prose clearly ground down some members of the audience, and many of the jokes written for Don Armado and some of the other characters seemed to pass them by.

As the play neared its end, a messenger arrived to announce the death of the Princess’s father, allowing the production to suddenly shift gear and portray a more moving element of Shakespeare’s writing. Up to this point the stage had been a haven of merriment, yet as Berowne spoke a gloomier atmosphere immediately subsided over the proceedings.

The play worked particularly well because the design of Kingston’s Rose is based on the original Rose theatre on London’s Bankside, home of Shakespeare’s early plays.

Both theatres use a stage which stretches into the audience, giving a more intimate feel to productions, as well as providing a pit area in front of the stall seats where audience members can bring cushions to sit on for a reduced ticket price.

After his performance as the King of Navarre in the production, Dan Fredenburgh told RiverOnline that he had greatly enjoyed the experience; “Working with Sir Peter has been very different because he’s a master of verse and I’m not! I’ve really enjoyed it.”

In all this, Love’s Labour’s Lost marked a refreshing change with its emphasis on the original language instead of another modern take on a classic piece of writing.

The next production at the Rose Theatre is A Christmas Carol which runs from 2nd December to 3rd January. Ticket prices range from £7 - £29.50. To book online click here.

Picture credits: Alastair Muir/Rex Features and Geraint Lewis/Rex Features