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.
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| 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.
