Drama Review: Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost

For my English assignment, we were told to watch Love's Labour's Lost--yes, an impossibly high level of language, which rings music to my ears. And thus, here is the review.

The hilarious performances of Longaville, Dumain, Ferdinand, and Biron

The play Love’s Labour’s Lost is an earlier work of historical comedy by the celebrated William Shakespeare, performed on stage by Shakespeare’s Globe. I saw its recording by Opus Arte, and I quite enjoyed the play for the great acting that brought out the humor, and also for the complex story of romance. The story began when the Ferdinand, the King of Navarre, made a vow with his three lords Biron, Dumain, and Longaville to study for three years, and for the time they cannot meet a woman. However, when the Princess of France arrives with her three ladies, they fall in love. The arrival of the Spaniard, Don Armado, who was also in love with another maid, caused letters to be delivered to the wrong people, thus people learned that the vows have been broken.

            A most commendable performance was done by Trystan Gravelle, who played Lord Biron. As a main character, Gravelle presented Biron in a way that made him more unique than the two other lords, and even the King himself, by speaking at a faster pace. It is said that Biron is the character who has the most wits and control over words, and Gravelle’s impeccable pacing made him more believable than others, which spoke rather dramatically, as he fits those wits better. In addition to his pacing, he also tended to put more emotion in some moments, particularly in the lines where he disagreed with Ferdinand about the oath or when arguing for his love, making him more memorable than the other lords, and perhaps overshadowing Ferdinand.

            Another great character in the play was Costard, played by Fergal McElherron. Most, if not all Shakespearean drama have a fool who keeps the play funny, and in this comedy, Costard was hilarious. McElherron was perhaps nearly shameless, where he even ‘accidentally’ kissed Constable Dull once. He tended to move more than the other players, always leaping around and performing dramatic actions like flapping his hands and pointing around like how a fool in a drama usually does, which, together with his high-pitched intonation, also made him more memorable than most other characters, perhaps being a comedic relief in an already hilarious play.

            It was not only the characters that made the play great. While the play had no directed lighting in the form of spotlights, nor background music to emphasize action, they made use of a unique feature of the theatre, the shape of the stage. It was a zig-zag to the seats which presented an interesting setting, which the actors used to the fullest, drawing people’s attention to the center, or the extremities of the stage. Meanwhile, the clothing also did well to emphasize a character when they wanted to, such as giving the King a golden cloak and making Biron looking more disheveled compared to the other lords, or actually giving them similar clothing so as to equally draw attention, like the lords at the start of the show, or them and the ladies during the party.

            In short, Love’s Labour’s Lost by Shakespeare’s Globe was presented in a very witty and hilarious manner by the actors. I have nothing but praise for this classic comedy of Shakespeare, with its magnificent wordplay and acting. I recommend this to anyone who wishes to see a light-hearted romance, while also wishing for a more complex work of literature.