Point Break Theatre Company: Much Ado About Nothing - Review by Jordan Anderson

Point Break Theatre Company continues to prove why it’s one of the best Community Theatre Company’s in Sydney at nurturing the next generation of young talent with Much Ado Nothing, which is most certainly, about something.

            Shakespeare can be hard, if you’re not used to the Olde English and his prolonged use of flowery language (often ending in a crude joke), it can be incredibly easy to tune out of a production. It takes real skill for a performance to help break that mental boundary and bring the audience in for a ride, especially one with a plot as convoluted as Much Ado About Nothing, a story with more hidden identities than the lobby of MI6. Luckily under the strength of directing duo Paul Winchester and Blair Cutting, the story in all its comedic splendour was easy to follow and the laughs flowed freely, a sentiment I heard echoed from the eclectic audience of Friday Nights’ Performance. I applaud not only Paul and Blair on the obvious amount of work they spent decoding the script with their cast, but also the entire cast on their dedication to understanding the minutia of their characters and the storyline. I say this not with derision; but based solely on their perceived ages, this could have been some of the actors first time on a stage but you wouldn’t know that from the professionalism they all displayed.

            For those who don’t know plot of Much Ado About Nothing, you can either look up a synopsis online, or better yet go see this production but at short, it involves a whole lot of people lying and pretending to be someone else, which then makes other people mad and ruins a wedding, while also helping an unlikely couple to get together, there’s some public drunkenness thrown in for good measure and a fake death. All of this because of a jealous half sibling, so all in all, incredibly Shakespearean, and no, I’m not putting a spoiler warning, the show is over 400 years old, you’ve had time to catch up.

Our unlikely couple of Benedick and Beatrice are played by Brendan Miles and Sammie Bailey respectfully. Separately these two were incredibly talented performers, effortlessly commanding the stage as they waltzed around the resort or awoke face down in a blow-up pool.  But it’s when they come together that they truly shine, their ‘merry war’ is full of laugh at loud japes, while the tenderness they exhibited when they realised the other may have feelings for them was awe-inducing.

            Our ill-fated lovers Claudio and Hero, played by Owen Frost and Julia Grace, embody the naivety and potential down fall of a whirlwind young love.  Frost, plays Claudio with the brashness of a young man eager to impress his superiors and move quickly through the ranks, which all too quickly comes tumbling down, to an almost dorky boyish charm when he finally meets Graces’ Hero.  Grace embodies Hero with the flair of a young woman in love, which makes the heartbreak in act 2 cut all the more deeply. Her scene with Ursula (Bridgette Shields) where they subtly plant the notion of Benedicks affections to a hiding Beatrice was a true highlight of the evening and shows off some of the great physicality that Blair and Cutting infused into the piece.

Don Pedro, the commanding officer of Benedick and Claudio was in the more than capable hands of Erica Nelson, who commanded the stage with at times a rather nurturing and maternal presence for her soldiers but could quickly change to a jovial light-hearted jokester, looking for the next way to keep them entertained.  Her dialogue with Leonato (Michael Richmond) hinted towards a past friendship between the two but revealed a more protective and stern side and suggested at the strength of her command.

Don John, the conniving trickster behind the events and sister to Don Pedro was played with a tactical disinterest by Majella Nolan.  This almost bored feel created an evil character who appeared to not sow chaos for any personal gain or reason, but simply for the sake of causing problems.  Her scenes with her sister, Don Pedro, had an icy venom behind the polite speech, oozing with an almost uncomfortable awkwardness.  Oliver James Damian and Liam Dewar played her underlings, Borachio and Conrad with an almost Disney-esque henchman vibe. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they too were foiled trying to kidnap 101 Dalmations.

            Speaking of highlight, It would be remiss of me to not mention 2x of my favourite acts of the show, Blair Cutting as Balthasar and Edward Gay as Dogberry.  Cutting strut across the stage with a gold chain, bedazzled vest and sideways cap looking like he’s come straight out of our collective 90’s fever dream. He then proceeded to rap and sing his way into our hearts and I will forgive the absolutely atrocious violin ‘playing.’ Gay wanted to make you laugh and he didn’t care how he got it.  His physicality and constantly changing accent were incredible, and a well-timed prop break on stage just added to the unhinged chaos he brought to the stage.  Gay was well supported by his right-hand support of Verges played by Lily Vinter who continuously rose to the bar that Gay was placing.

            While I wouldn’t go away saying this is my favourite Shakespeare play I have ever seen, a lot of the sexism from the original text has really not aged well, the story is light, and fun and for the most part doesn’t take itself too seriously.  You can easily see how a lot of our modern tropes and farcical elements have evolved directly from this script and my full applause to this production for leaning into them so well.  Point Break Theatre Company have once again done an excellent job translating this text to stage and making these classic productions so accessible to a modern audience. If you haven’t had the chance to experience one of their shows, I highly recommend you go and see this one.