Love's Labour's Lost - Shakespeare's Globe ★★★★★

Love’s Labour’s Lost tends to be one of those Shakespeares that disappears into classroom shelves; untouched, never put on the syllabus. As riotous as it is, it’s rarely staged and best known for being an exception to Shakespeare’s own comedy-writing rules. The script references its own flaws: that this comedy does not end the way it ‘should’, as grief gets in the way of love. Ultimately, it’s a series of unresolved affairs between two groups: the King of Navarre and his court, and the Princess of Spain and her ladies. Now interpreted by Indiana Lown-Collins for her directorial debut, there’s no doubt that on a hot summer’s evening, this explosion of laughter, dance, passion and crudity is sure to uplift.

So, what happens? The King of Navarre and his friends swear on an oath to devote themselves to studying for three years – abstaining from any/all distractions, including food, sleep, and women. In their foolish excitement, the cartoonish fraternity clowns around the circular stage in their lacy, flared getups (occasionally bursting into song and dance). It’s understood early on that this devotion to academia will not outlast the power of infatuation, especially when one of the men remembers that the Princess of Spain and her three ladies are due to arrive shortly.

Set against an opulent, gold-trimmed northern Spanish-inspired backdrop, the play opens with the first of many impressive, heartfelt, eye-locked flamenco performances by Pablo Egea and Anita La Maltesa. The script does lend itself to music for all its inherent rhythm, rhyme and wordplay. Actors and dancers are accompanied throughout by a live mariachi-style band; percussion by Ayoze de Alejandro Lopez stands out as the heartbeat which drives romance. The choice to opt for flamenco and Spanish music to punctuate Shakespeare’s words is enjoyable and fitting. If anything, one could argue the music and dance upstage the play itself.

As things continue, classic comic tropes play out in the style of a farce. Love letters are delivered to the wrong people, so the wiser, more mature women have chance after chance to humiliate their lovers, the noblemen. A play within a play is performed using rather disturbing, comically large costumes – that punch down at Elizabeth I and Alexander the Great – holding opportunity for vulgar, satirical moments executed in true Shakespearean fashion. Katy Stephens stands out as the funniest actress on stage at any given time. She multiroles as a lady in attendance and a schoolteacher living in Spain. During her more elegant scenes, she is subdued and clever. In her comical scenes as a teacher, she waddles onstage in a tourist’s getup, deploying her infectious, humorous energy. It’s thanks to Stephens that some moments of this complex story do not drag and feel easier to follow. No matter how much you know about this play, her comic performance will bring you along and dump you into the farce!

One standout moment is when the Spanish Princess commands a bullfight, taking place on a smaller, separate stage in the pit. Norah Lopez Holden (Princess) acts as the matador, while established dancer Pablo Egea embodies the sad and lonesome bull. They dance around each other, music rising with every step closer. It’s all very intense and political. With modern attitudes towards animal rights and bullfighting in particular, seeing the stabbing of this bull (who appears as a man holding two horns) evokes more upsetting feelings than it originally would have. So, when the actors walk away after the fight with their bloodied hands in the air, it feels like art and activism – an unexpected moment in one of Shakespeare’s wittiest plays. However, opportunities to convey an important message are rarely overlooked in theatre at The Globe.

The most striking thing about this interpretation of Love’s Labour’s Lost is the way the creative team has blended the old with the new. Renditions of modern, ‘memeified’ Latin-inspired music like ‘Despacito’ play humorously alongside traditional Spanish rhythms to keep this fusion alive. Also, classic Shakespeare humour is approached with modern attitudes without losing any of its obscenity. Costume designer Katie Lias is to be thanked for her hilarious and modern designs. No matter if you’ve read/seen this play or not, it’s an opportunity to enjoy a night of laughter and music in true Shakespearean style, in a way that is designed for the modern eye.