SELS Dialogues Journal Volume 3 Issue 1

Creative Pursuits
Abbey falling out of the foliage or Beaty carrying a table
on her back like an Atlas who’s also in charge of the
buffet, the pratfalls are performed with ease for huge
laughs.
The production also makes great use of the aisles of the
large Festival Theatre, blooming out to involve entrances
and exits, including an impressive tumble from Jakob
Ehman’s swaggering Borachio. Much Ado’s success
rides or dies on its leads, and both Abbey and Beaty
have the chops to make their flawed couple likeable,
including appealing chemistry, a sense of ebullience
in the language they use so cleverly, and a care for the
people around them that causes their jabs to land truly
but more softly. Beaty, in particular, brings a fire to her
character, especially in her devotion to her cousin, that
makes it hard not to be #TeamBeatrice all evening.
One might, though, hope to feel more of the vulnerability
and desire to be loved that fully fleshes out the
characters, particularly Benedick. For example, the
choice to frame his initial joy at believing Beatrice
is hopelessly in love with him as over-the-top male
posturing is very, very funny, as is her reaction. However,
in focusing on a more stereotypical type of humour, it’s
missing a layer of almost childlike giddiness and wonder
at the thought of being seen and loved for who you really
are. Without this choice, though, we would lose a chance
to see the reactions of Hero’s attendants Margaret and
Ursula (Déjah Dixon-Green and Akosua Amo-Adem),
who take every opportunity to deflate Benedick’s ego
with glee. Where Abbey really shines is in his interaction
with the audience, involving unsuspecting patrons in
prop business and dropping the occasional delightful
metatheatrical comment.
These fourth-wall-breaking references are not only
entertaining, but serve to remind us that while tension
is high, the stakes are low. Beaty and Abbey aren’t the
only two to watch. Sills as Don Pedro projects warmth,
authority, and a sense of melancholy that gives him a
touch of Cyrano de Bergerac as he brokers matches
between his subjects without one himself. Eckert’s
Claudio is a young pup with sad eyes, making his
heel turn towards Hero all the more reprehensible,
and Josue Laboucane, Glynis Ranney, Dante Prince,
Kevin Kruchkywich and John Kirkpatrick get right down
to milking every laugh out of their props, costumes,
and gratuitous bird calls as the rude mechanicals
that are the incredibly incompetent Dogberry and the
Neighbourhood Watch. Even the smaller parts have
notable business, such as the limping Antonio (Anthony
Santiago) backing up his more vocally incensed brother
Leonato in his threats to Claudio by dropping his cane
to get into fighting stance with what strength he has left,
changing a wedding ring to a boxing ring. Abraham’s
production, in its unapologetic new content and its
fighting spirit, is a ringing success. Shakespeare purists
might make much ado about the changes. But they can
watch one of the thousands of other productions of this
play. This one adds up to a lot more than nothing.
Author’s Bio
Ilana Lucas holds a BA in English and Theatre
from Princeton and an MFA in Dramaturgy
and Script Development from Columbia. For
Centennial, she has developed The Power
of Communication, The Show Must Go On:
Theatre Studies, and Professional English
Communication. She writes for Intermission
Magazine and BroadwayWorld Toronto, and is
the current President of the Canadian Theatre
Critics Association. Her most recent play, “Let’s
Talk,” won the Toronto Fringe Festival’s 24-Hour
Playwriting Contest.
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