Title: Much Ado About Nothing
Author: William Shakespeare
Type: Fiction
Page Count: 268
Rating: 4/5
I’m not sure how I hadn’t got to this play yet, but I’m glad I picked it up. I think it’s actually one of the easiest of Shakespeare’s plays to follow, and I flew through it because I have a weird edition. The left pages have the notes on and the right side has the play, but I didn’t need the notes except for the introductions to each scene to make sure that I knew what was going on.
One of the things that interested me here is that it focusses on a case of mistaken identity, which Shakespeare has done elsewhere. He does it well, and this play is a fantastic example of that. At the same time, it was much easier to understand and to follow the action than it was in The Comedy of Errors, which has some similarities.
But this also stands up on its own as a fantastic little play and something that’s going to stick with me for a while. There’s also a little bit of romance in there, presumably to give it some more mainstream appeal, and the humour is of the kind where I think anyone could enjoy it. That makes it a play for all the family, and I hope that at some point I get to see a performance of it.
We’ll see, though. That might have to wait until after all of the coronavirus stuff has blown over. But Shakespeare was quarantined too, I hear.
