Red Bus Londinium Life

Jamie Lloyd has become known for a stark grey and black palette, so it is a relief to find that he has now discovered the colour pink. His last foray into Shakespeare, The Tempest with Sigourney Weaver, suffered from drabness and a lack of clarity. Much Ado About Nothing could not be further from drab and leads Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell are superb: delivering their lines with chemistry, flair and humour.

As one would hope in a comedy, there were many laugh-out-loud moments. A booming club soundtrack underpins the action and brings further liveliness and excitement.

The stage is flooded with pink confetti and the only real prop is a table at one point, a large hanging heart and chairs that remind any parent of waiting in uncomfortable lines at crowded parents’ evenings. Most of the time this works, but when the misty haze on stage faded, we were left staring at the stark garage doors at the back of the theatre. It was hard not to have the spell lost. Even if the empty stage is kept, some sort of plain backdrop at the rear would help here.

Mason Alexander Park was one of the redeeming features in The Tempest, so it was wonderful to have more of them in this show. Their sensuous voice in the role of Margaret and in the extended singing pieces was again a highlight.

Many of the ensemble are also repeats from The Tempest, but they seem to have more to do here. The costumes are also suitably differentiated so it is far easier to tell who is who, even when trickery is being played.

I attended in half-term and there were many young people in the audience. They will have had a fine introduction to Shakespeare.