In this radio review spot on Arts Weekly, 3MBS on Sat 15 Nov 2025, I talk to Nick Tolhurst briefly about Much Ado About Nothing at MTC, and preview A Christmas Carol directed by Matthew Warchus and adapted by Jack Thorne.
This is a very short spot: 5min 20.
This is my final radio review slot for 2025. You'll hear me again in 2026!
THEATRE
By William Shakespeare
By Melbourne Theatre Company
At The Sumner, Southbank Theatre until 19 Dec 2025
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 29 Nov 2025. KH
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| Alison Bell, Fayssal Bazzi. Photo by Gregory Lorenzutti |
Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is often celebrated for its nimble repartee, tender romance and dark undercurrents, but this MTC production, directed by Mark Wilson, pushes the comedy pedal to the floor—at the cost of the play’s emotional ballast. What begins as a promising collision of wit and slapstick gradually dissolves into a frenetic parade of gags that smother the subtler shifts in Shakespeare’s tonal landscape.
Set in Messina, the play follows
two intertwining love stories The young lovers, Hero (Miela Anich) and Claudio (Remy Heremaia), prepare for
marriage until the villainous Don John (Chanella Macri) engineers a
cruel deception that leads Claudio to publicly shame Hero. Meanwhile, the
sharp-tongued Beatrice (Alison Bell) and the swaggering bachelor Benedick (Fayssal Bazzi) are tricked into
confessing their secret affections. In the end, misunderstandings unravel,
villains are exposed, and love—bruised but intact—wins the day.
The opening ten minutes bode well, with the competitive, satirical sparring between Beatrice and Benedick capturing the lyrical wit and verbal acrobatics that make Shakespeare sparkle. Bell, deliciously wicked and razor-sharp, shapes the language with clarity and confidence, while Bazzi brings a boyish, audacious charm to her adversary.
But Wilson’s production soon tilts into excess and overacting. Every scene, every character—even those written without comedic intent—becomes a vessel for a visual gag, pratfall or slapstick antic. The audience roars, certainly, but often at moments that beg for gravitas. Hero’s shaming and ensuing feigned death—an episode that sits close to tragedy—is played with parody that feels inappropriate and dramatically tone-deaf. The Prince’s (John Shearman) absurd dance-lament at Hero’s tomb undermines one of the play’s moments of sincerity.
Shakespeare’s darker or dramatic elements traditionally counterpoint the comic, giving depth to the merry chaos. Here, that balance is lost. The relentless push for a laugh every thirty seconds mistrusts the ability of the audience to accept the drama or, perhaps, to understand the interdependence of comedy and drama.
The production’s most obvious misstep is a prolonged and lurid, simulated sexual encounter on the balcony that is the start of Don John’s malicious deception. Rather than revealing the nastiness of the trick, the staging cheapens the moment and distracts from its emotional fallout.
The inimitable Julie Forsyth is the unmistakable highlight. As Dogberry and Ursula (among other characters), she delivers a performance that is both meticulously detailed and hilarious. Her every entrance is a relief. Yes, the trademark Forsyth rasp remains, but each character she crafts is etched with distinct eccentricity, rhythm and physical precision. Her performance is a masterclass in how to play broad comedy without flattening nuance.
The sprawling open stage—with costumes changes and backstage action visible—offers potential, but ultimately feels conceptually adrift. And the screen projection of a giant female portrait (Is it Pamela Anderson?) seems to bear no discernible relationship to the production’s themes or aesthetic.
Despite an ardent, cheering opening-night crowd, this Much Ado lacks the dramatic balance that allows Shakespeare’s romantic comedy to breathe, bruise and charm. The play’s layers are there, but the production just won’t sit still long enough to let us see them.
by Kate Herbert
CAST
· Alison Bell - Beatrice
· Fayssal Bazzi - Benedick
· Julie Forsyth -Dogberry / Ursula / Others
· Miela Anich - Hero / Borachio
· Remy Heremaia - Claudio
· John Shearman - Don Pedro (The Prince)
· Chanella Macri - Don John/Margaret
· Syd Brisbane - Leonato
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Creative Team
· Mark Wilson - Director
· Anna Cordingley - Set Designer
· Kariné Larché - Costume Designer
· Joe Paradise Lui - Lighting Designer
· Michelle Heaven – Choreographer –
· Voice Coach - Geraldine Cook-Dafner
· Lyndall Grant - Fight / Movement Choreographer
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| Erik Thomson & Cast in A Christmas Carol 2024 |
Click this link (Correct link now): A Christmas Carol 2024 REVIEW
I'm reposting my 5-star review of the 2024 production of A Christmas Carol.
I also reviewed it in 2023 with Owen Teale in the lead and that was also 5 stars.
KATE
"Matthew Warchus’s exhilarating production of A Christmas Carol, adapted by Jack Thorne from Dickens’ ripping yarn, is a very Christmassy feast of carols, choral harmonies, mass bell ringing, snow, faith, hope and charity and even a veritable feast of fruits, vegetables, meat platters, puddings and breads all sliding down from the balcony along draped sheets to the stage and into wicker baskets. Yes, real food – mostly.
"The pre-show musical entertainment includes actors dispensing mince pies and mandarins to audience members who wave furiously at actors to get their hands on the Chrissy nosh.
Thorne’s version of Dickens’ story extracts crucial moments, takes licence with some dialogue, and omits some characters and scenes because, let’s face it, Dickens’ book would take many hours to perform in full."
The following list is this year's 2025-2026, cast and creative team. asterisks indicate returnng cast members. I can't find the band list yet.
CAST
Lachie Hulme – Ebenezer Scrooge
*Felix Star -Young Ebenezer (also cello)
Daniel Frederiksen - Bob Cratchit
*Tony Cogin - Father / Marley
Andrew Coshan - Fred
*Stephanie Lambourn - Mrs Cratchit (Mandolin)
Natasha Herbert - Ghost of Christmas Past
*Samantha Morley - Ghost of Christmas Present
Emily Robinson - Little Fan
Claire Warrilow - Belle
Nicholas Kong - Fezziwig
Jack Van Taveren – Nicholas/Ferdy
Jonathon Gardner -George
*Kaori Maeda-Judge – Jess
Tiny Tims - *Mira Friedman, *Wynton Inman, Emelia di Gianvincenzo, Noah Sherburn
Swings: Hanlon Innocent, Amber Langman
CREATIVE TEAM
Jack Thorne - Adaptation
Matthew Warchus - Director
Rob Howell - Set & Costume
Christopher Nightingale - Composer & Arranger
Vicky Jacobs - Australian Musical Director
Hugh Vanstone -Lighting
Simon Baker - Sound
Lizzi Gee – Movement
Simon Baker – Sound
Campbell Young Assoc- Hair, wigs, make-up
In this radio review spot on Arts Weekly, 3MBS on Sat 15 Nov 2025, I talk to Nick Tolhurst and Phillipa Edwards about how to write a 10-minute play: concept, outline, structure, dialogue, characters etc.
It is not a comprehensive guide, but rather a roving chat that we plan to continue at a later date
KATE HERBERT Arts Weekly 3MBS Sat 1 Nov 2025 https://youtu.be/aK8ruNbCkU0
In this radio review spot on Arts Weekly, 3MBS on Sat 1 Nov 2025, I talk with Nick Tolhurst, producer, and Phillipa Edwards, host, about Hair the Musical at Athenaeum Theatre and The Crucible with Steve Coogan on National Theatre at Home.
