Shakespeare: Love’s Labour’s Lost & Won (Royal Shakespeare Company)

Sam Alexander (King of Navarre/Don John); Peter Basham (Gamekeeper); William Belchambers (Longaville); Edward Bennett (Berowne/Benedick); Michelle Terry (Beatrice); Nick Haverson (Costard/Dogberry); Emma Manton (Jaquenetta); John Hodgkinson (Don Armado); Tunji Kasim (Claudio/Dumaine); Flora Spencer-Longhurst (Hero);

Christopher Luscombe directs Shakespeare’s great pair of romantic comedies, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Love’s Labour’s Won – the latter usually known as Much Ado About Nothing. He places them either side of the First World War, with stage designs evoking the magical setting of Charlecote Park, a few miles from Stratford-upon-Avon.

Love’s Labour’s Lost conjures up the carefree elegance of a pre-war Edwardian summer; in post-war Love’s Labour’s Won the world has changed forever, the roaring ’20s just around the corner. One company of actors performs in both productions, with Edward Bennett and Michelle Terry as the sparring couple in each.

Containing Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost and Love’s Labour’s Won, this double set features outstanding Royal Shakespeare Company productions available at mid-price for the very first time.

NB individual titles willremain available at full-price.

Love’s Labour’s Lost

King of Navarre - Sam Alexander

Gamekeeper - Peter Basham

Longaville - William Belchambers

Berowne - Edward Bennett

Costard - Nick Haverson

Jaquenetta - Emma Manton

Don Armado - John Hodgkinson

Dumaine - Tunji Kasim

Love’s Labour’s Won

Don John - Sam Alexander

Leonato - David Horovitch

Benedick - Edward Bennett

Beatrice - Michelle Terry

Claudio - Tunji Kasim

Borachio - Chris Nayak

Hero - Flora Spencer-Longhurst

Dogberry - Nick Haverson

Reviews

"This is the most blissfully entertaining and emotionally involving RSC offering I’ve seen in ages." (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★)

"This is, in its entirety, an endeavour that sings: poignant, impassioned and gorgeous ... Brilliantly comic ... extraordinarily powerful." (The Times ★★★★★)

"A marvel … immaculately co-ordinated." (The Daily Mail ★★★★★)

"These productions are a joy … Edward Bennett and Michelle Terry make a splendid pairing." (The Sunday Times ★★★★)

"This imaginative pairing makes total sense. If love is thwarted in the first play, it is triumphantly fulfilled in the second." (The Guardian ★★★★)