by William Shakespeare
Victorian College of
the Arts, Drama School
Beckett Theatre Malthouse until September 14,
1996
Reviewed by Kate
Hebert around Sep 5, 1996
Love's Labour's Lost is a barrel of monkeys. This is
probably why it is rarely done. It is simple comic-romantic fluff with little
substance. The Victorian College of the Arts production, directed by Darryl
Wilkinson, is light, fun and warmly performed by a cast of its graduating
students.
It appears as if Shakespeare, with his comedy pals, decided
to write a vehicle for the thrust and parry of every form of comic word-play;
just a little something to while away the weeks between the tragedies. It is a
gag-fest.
In fact, it is firmly based in the Italian Commedia
dell'Arte style complete with "boy meets girl, boy gets girl" or
rather "four boys get girls". The young King of Navarre and his three
mates have decided to close his court to the distractions of women so they can
study and fast. Yes. Study. Read it and weep, parents of slack VCE students.
It uses the classic Commedia devices of switched identities,
misdirected letters, wily servants, unrequited love and bawdiness. There is a
Harlequin character in the servant, Costard, and his conquest, Jaquenetta, parallels
Columbina. Her other suitor, the Spanish Don Armado, is a replica of the
braggard, Capitano. Armado is played by the jewel in this particularly wacky
crown, Rodney Afif, who has impeccable comic timing and physicality.
Wilkinson's direction keeps up a cracking pace which bounces
us gleefully through an essentially verbose text. The company enjoy the romp
and, although the performances are uneven and the women, who shone in A Doll's
House, have limited roles, there are a few notables. Kyle Wright was engaging
as the barbed wit Berowne and Rodney Power gave a sterling cameo as the
commedia style know-all Dottore, Holofernes.
There are echoes of later comedies in the language and
narrative: Much Ado, As You Like It, and even the Mechanicals from Midsummer
Night's Dream are presaged in a very silly interlude by four blokes. The story
falls over at the end leaving the lovers unrequited and seems to beg for an
epilogue. Perhaps Shakespeare was awaiting the Hollywood movie industry sequel:
Love's Labours Two, Three and Four.
KATE HERBERT
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