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theatre^ 12-18 Aug 2017^ guide^36

Five of the best

theatre

1

Much Ado About Nothing

Shakespeare’s play gets a

makeover in Matthew Dunster’s

revival, which relocates the

action to the Mexican revolution

at the start of the last century.

Amid war, love blooms between

verbal sparring partners

Benedick and Beatrice, played

with intelligence and vim by

Matthew Needham and Beatriz

Romilly. It makes for an evening

that’s not without its flaws but

when this fires on all cylinders it

does so to great comic effect.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, SE1,

to 15 Oct

2

The Secret Diary of Adrian

Mole Aged 13¾

Getting a musical right is never

easy: it takes time, work and

patience. Jake Brunger and

Pippa Cleary’s adaptation of

Sue Townsend’s much-loved

1982 book first popped up at

the Curve in Leicester in 2015.

It was charming then, capturing

all the spotty teenager’s lovable

pompousness, yet it is even

smarter now in a reworked

version full of retro appeal for

the adults, which should delight

younger family members , too.

The Menier Chocolate Factory,

SE1, to 9 Sep

3

Titus Andronicus

Have your supper before

seeing Blanche McIntyre’s canny,

updated revival of Shakespeare’s

bloodiest play. You won’t fancy

anything following this splatter-

fest that culminates with the

antihero baking his enemy’s

children in a pie. David Troughton

gives a very fi ne performance

as Titus, suggesting a man not

just fi red by revenge but all-

consuming grief, while McIntyre

cleverly negotiates the drama’s

swings from violence and trauma

to laugh-out-loud absurdity.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre,

Stratford-upon-Avon, to 2 Sep

4

Road

Jim Cartwright’s seminal

mid-1980s work captured all the

hopelessness of the young during

the Thatcher government. John

Tiffany’s revival is a reminder of

what a compassionate play this

is; one that treats its working-

class protagonists with real

dignity. It’s an uneven evening –

the second half is better than the

first – but, at its giddy, gorgeous

best, it’s quite extraordinary.

Jerwood Theatres at the Royal

Court, SW1, to 9 Sep

5

The Ferryman

The title may refer to Greek

myth, and the play may be

suffused with Irish legend, but

Jez Butterworth’s epic family

drama is never overwrought as

it charts a single day in the life

of Paddy Considine’s Quinn, a

farmer caught in a love triangle

with his wife and his sister-in-

law. There is a sitcom feel at

times, but that’s no bad thing in

a warm, messy and multi layered

family drama set against the

background of the Troubles.

Gielgud Theatre, W1, to 6 Jan

Lyn Gardner

Mex factor

Matthew

Dunster’s

Much Ado at

the Globe

RISTRAM KENTON