Much Ado About Nothing
Olivier
The Masque of the Red Death
Battersea Arts Centre
The Winter’s Tale
Courtyard Theatre
Simon Russell Beale is working through the complete works of Shakespeare like a Regency beau touring Italy. It’s mid-winter and he’s alighted in Messina to peruse the role of Benedick. With Russell Beale the question is not how well he’ll interpret a new role but how well the character suits his strengths — his warmth and intelligence, his sly donnish humour. Benedick is a good fit. Not perfect, perhaps. The dash and romantic energy aren’t quite there because Russell Beale is, shall we say, a little more settled in his ways than the part requires. But he has such an effortless stage presence that even this portly grey-bearded Benedick erases earlier performances from the mind.
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