Shakespeare's glittering comedy about the "merry war" between Beatrice and Benedick, who take great delight in insulting each other at every opportunity. Their family and friends can all see that they were made for one other and set about bringing these two confirmed "bachelors" together. BITESIZE have created a highly accessible production in which Shakespeare's language blossoms and the plot is so easy to follow, that it will be suitable for your whole school. A great introduction to Shakespeare for younger audiences as well as a study text, when they reach Year 9. This is Shakespeare at it's very best, performed by an experienced professional company, using the real text and high production values. A cast of six, full set, lights, sound and period costumes bring out all of the elements of this wonderful piece of theatre.

SYNOPSIS

In Messina, on the Isle of Sicily, its governor, Leonato, receives a Messenger who tells him that his friend Don Pedro, the Prince of Aragon, is returning from a successful military campaign and is intending to stop off in Messina on his way home. Beatrice, Leonato's niece, nonchalantly asks the Messenger about Signior Benedick, who is a frequent visitor to Messina and Leonato has to explain that there is a "merry war" between Beatrice and Benedick which resumes every time they meet. When Don Pedro arrives the whole family turns out to greet the royal visitor and his entourage; Leonato, his wife Inogen, their daughter Hero, and Beatrice. Pedro is accompanied, among others, by the young Florentine, Count Claudio; Signor Benedick of Padua; and Pedro's illegitimate half-brother, Don John; and while Claudio falls in love with Hero at first sight, Benedick and Beatrice trade witty insults. Later, in private, Claudio confides in Benedick, and then in Don Pedro, of his love for Hero. Benedick, being a professed tyrant to the opposite sex, only teases him, but Don Pedro, vows to help him win Hero's hand by disguising himself as Claudio at the Masked Ball, Leonato has arranged to welcome them.

Two people overhear Don Pedro and Claudio's conversation. Borachio, a servant to Don John, who reports Don Pedro's intentions correctly to his master, but John, who is unhappy with how he thinks life has treated him, and has only recently returned to his half-brother's favour, plans to foil the plan in anyway he can. The conversation is also overheard by one of, Leonato's brother, Antonio's servants, who reports incorrectly, that Don Pedro is intending to woe Hero for himself.

At the Celebration Mask Ball, Anthonio, reports this to Leonato, and both rejoice at this supposed match and prepare Hero to give a favourable response to her future husband. Beatrice vows never to marry, echoing Benedick's earlier sentiments. When the main guests arrive in disguise (masked), Don Pedro asks Hero to dance, in order to further Claudio's suit. Benedick and Beatrice also dance but she only makes fun of him, pretending not to know who he is, and Benedick takes her remarks to heart. Don John corners Claudio, pretending to think that he is Benedick, and misleads him into thinking that Don Pedro is really wooing Hero for himself; and Claudio is naive enough to believe that this could be true. Don John leaves thinking he has won. When Benedick arrives under instruction from Don Pedro to find Claudio, his witty remarks only make things worse and Claudio storms off, only to be found by Don Pedro, who easily puts him straight, by announcing that he has won Hero's hand for the dumbstruck Claudio. Flush with his success as a matchmaker, Don Pedro turns his attention to Beatrice and Benedick and lays out a plan to get them to marry with the help of, Hero and her two maidservants, Ursula and Margaret, and Claudio and Leonato.

In the garden, Benedick muses about how lovers make fools of themselves, and tells the audience of his ideal woman, but hides when Don Pedro, Leonato, and Claudio come by. The three allow Benedick to overhear them discuss Beatrice' alleged, all consuming love for Benedick, which they say Benedick will only sneer at. When they leave, Benedick resolves to be horribly in love with Beatrice, excusing himself from his previous vow to die a bachelor. When Beatrice arrives to call him in to dinner, he interprets her brusque manner in a new light, assuming she speaks with double meanings. Later, Hero and her servant Ursula, play a similar trick on Beatrice, discussing how Benedick is "in love" with Beatrice, while she hides in the trees and listens; she too takes the bait.

Don John is furious when he learns of Claudio's engagement to Hero. His plot has failed, but still hoping to foil their marriage, Borachio comes up with a plan, which he thinks will misuse the Prince, vex Claudio, undo Hero, and most likely kill Leonato in the process. Don John is to find Pedro and Claudio and tell them that Hero has been unfaithful and that he will prove it, the evening before the wedding.

At nightfall, Dogberry and Verges instruct the night Watch on how to guard the city, and as the Watch patrol the streets, or at least a comfortable bench outside the church, they overhear a drunken Borachio tell Conrade, a supporter of Don John, how he has received a thousand ducats from his master, for the his success of his plan. He had Margaret, Hero's maidservant, meet him on Hero's balcony wearing Hero's clothes, which from a distance; where Don Pedro, Don John and Claudio watched; it could be believed that they saw him wooing Hero, herself. So convincing was the performance that Claudio has declared that he would denounce Hero, to her enduring shame, during the Wedding Ceremony, next day. The Watch arrests Borachio and Conrade, but when Dogberry and Verges come to Leonato to tell him of the arrest, he is so pre-occupied by the Wedding that he impatiently sends them away. When Don John hears of Borachio's arrest he flees.

During the Wedding, Claudio and Don Pedro accuse Hero of being unfaithful. Hero denies talking to any man at her bedchamber window the previous night, but all of the men, including her Father, remain unconvinced and so, in her shame, she faints. Don Pedro and Claudio leave, while Beatrice is the only one to come to Hero's defence, believing that she has been falsely accused. The Friar is of the same opinion, and suggests that Hero, should be concealed from the world, and an announcement made that she has died of her shame. That way, he hopes to change Claudio's slander into remorse. After the others leave, Benedick declares his love for Beatrice and after some hesitation, she declares the same for him, but then asks him to show his love by killing Claudio for wronging her cousin. Benedick reluctantly agrees, and leaves to challenge Claudio to a duel. In prison, Dogberry interrogates Borachio and Conrade in front of the Sexton (recorder) , who having heard the facts of the case, takes Borachio and Conrade to confess to Leonato.

The Friar's plan has the desired effect; when Claudio hears of Hero's "death" and of Borachio's confession; he is full of remorse and asks Leonato to impose any penance he can think of for his part in Hero's "death". Leonato asks him to read an Epitaph outside "Hero's Tomb" and to meet him next day prepared to marry a "cousin" of Hero's; "almost the copy" of Hero herself. Claudio agrees but finds his new bride is none other than Hero herself. Benedick asks Leonato for Beatrice's hand in marriage. And as everyone celebrates, news comes that Don John has been arrested for his deceit and will be punished.

COMMENTARY

Much Ado About Nothing written around 1598, is one of the Shakespeare "Romance" plays, and unlike many, it has little or no verse speaking, with more than two-thirds of the play written in prose. It is a play about different aspects of love and the main characters in the play; the two couples; Beatrice and Benedick; and Claudio and Hero, each take a different approach; with Claudio and Hero showing us the usual Elizabethan approach to courtship and marriage; while Beatrice and Benedick are more unconventional.
The action of the play all takes place in Messina on the Island of Sicily, in and around the home of Leonato, its governor. The beginning of the play is very bright and uplifting. You can almost feel the Sicilian sunshine. This feel-good factor is undoubtedly part of the reason for the play's popularity in Elizabethan times. Messina is a happy place. A place of peace, untouched by the war. A place where young men's thoughts inevitably turn to love.... and a place where everyone wants to know everybody else's business and this is reflected in the play's title; since "nothing" in Shakespeare's time would have also read as "noting"; in other words, observing. So it's inevitable that eavesdropping and, of course, gossip should be a favourite pastime of almost everyone in the play.
The play starts with the arrival, of Don Pedro, the Prince of Aragon. He and his entourage, stop off in Messina on their way home from a successful military campaign. They are greeted by, Leonato, Messina's Governor, and two of the main characters; Leonato's daughter, Hero, and his niece, Beatrice. The other two; Signor Claudio of Florence and Signor Benedick of Padua, are in the Prince's entourage, as is the Prince's illegitimate half brother, Don John; the villain of the piece.
To Elizabethan audiences, the fact that Don John is Don Pedro's illegitimate brother would immediately have characterised him, as jealous and out to create mischief for others, and the similarity of his name, Don John, to... dungeon, would have further suggested him to be dark, deep and criminal.

Beatrice & Benedick
Benedick has been a frequent visitor to Messina and is well known there, especially to Beatrice. We are told that there is a "merry war betwixt Signor Benedick, & her: they never meet but there's a skirmish of wit between them". The quickfire repartee which characterises these skirmishes, with it's formal and artificial qualities, was much enjoyed by Elizabethan audiences and was designed to show off the ingenious wit and intellectual cleverness of the actors and the playwright. But it's also, one of the plays difficulties, for a modern audience, since these exchanges use frequent references to aspects of everyday Elizabethan life, which have long since fallen out of common use or custom. This style of verbal duel is called stichomythia. Words are returned back and forth and repeated patterns of phrasing add to the rhythm of the dialogue. It imitates the rapid exchanges, repetitions and contrasts found in the plays of the first-century Roman dramatist Seneca, which were also very popular at the time.
Now Beatrice and Benedick, claim their bickering arises from their dislike of each other and their mutual hatred of the opposite sex. But they show a respect for each other, and find an enjoyment in each other's company, which has built up through this continual verbal sparring, which neither is able to win since they're a match for each other intellectually.
And they don't just use their acerbic wit on each other. Oh, no! They both enjoy using it on everyone. But, it's only in each other that they find someone who can give as good as they get. They don't see this.... initially..... as love, although it's clear to everyone else that they were made for each other.
Now, as a character, Beatrice is lively, energetic, witty, intelligent, fun-loving, strong willed, forthright and outspoken; and she's given a degree of freedom not allowed to her cousin Hero. However, Beatrice is essentially lonely. The orphaned cousin who's on the outside in many ways. She represents a liberated woman at a time when such things were unheard of.
At every point on the social scale men were the head of the household. Most would decide when and whom their daughters would marry and they demanded total respect from their wives and children. A wife was, by law, subordinate to her husband. Although, things were changing. Elizabethan England was a society in transition. After all, they were ruled by a Queen.
Even so, Beatrice would still have been seen as a poor marriage prospect to most of the men in her social circle. She would have been referred to as a 'shrew' in Shakespeare's day, where women could still lawfully be punished for talking too much and those who showed intelligence and independence were referred to as 'curst'.
Benedick, on the other hand, has the reputation of being a Ladies man, and so his hatred of women, is not a dislike of women, per say, he declares it to be, a fear of being cuckolded.
Now, a cuckold is the husband of an adulteress. Elizabethan men thought that all women were naturally promiscuous, and so in Benedick's eyes it'd be inevitable that a wife would, sooner or later, go off with someone else, and so a married man would always become a cuckold.
But where does this fear come from ?.... Perhaps, he comes from a broken home. Perhaps his mother left, him and his father, for another man, but whatever the reason, deep down, he feels that if he loves a women, she'll leave him.... so it's best not to give her the chance and as a result Benedick, keeps any relationship with a woman, shallow and meaningless. His scathing remarks about marriage, lead his male companions to think of him as a man's man, always having a laugh, never serious. He could well be the sort of man, who would brag about his conquests. But for most of the play, what we see of Benedick is a mask, a way to cover up his true feelings, which are also probably those of loneliness and a fear of inadequacy, but he doesn't even acknowledge those feelings to himself.

Claudio & Hero
But what of our other couple Claudio and Hero. Well, when the Prince and his entourage arrive in Messina, it's Leonato's daughter, Hero who catches the eye of Claudio. This is love, more or less, at first sight. For, although Claudio has an uncle in Messina, and has met Hero briefly before the recent military campaign, it's only on seeing her again, that he decides that he loves her; so they will marry. Hero has no say in the matter. But his love is entirely superficial; based on her looks, her father's wealth and Claudio's image of the sort of person Hero's name suggests she is. In fact, he knows almost nothing about Hero; they've hardly spoken. Although, Claudio does make sure that she has no brothers, so that he'll inherit all of her father's property.
This was all quite commonplace in Elizabethan Society, where marriage was often regarded as a business contract. A good marriage could bring honour and respect to a family and, of course, wealth, and being in love was unimportant. So Claudio and Hero show us the conventional rituals of aristocratic Elizabethan courtship and marriage; first; proxy wooing and dowry settlement, in this case organised by Don Pedro and Hero's father, Leonato. Next, formal betrothing and then marriage; and everything over in seven days. But there's no meeting of minds. For Claudio and Hero everything is organised by other people, with Claudio's side making all of the running. Their courtship is ritualistic, ceremonial and conducted in public; privacy in left for Beatrice and Benedick.

Dastardly Plots & Matchmaking
The play has many tricks and deceptions, which are generally played for the best of intentions. The exceptions are those organised by Don John. When Don Pedro offers to act as matchmaker and woo Hero on Claudio's behalf. This offer is overheard by a servant of Leonato's Brother, who reports in incorrectly, leaving Leonato believing that Don Pedro wants to marry Hero, himself. This is the first of the many examples of misunderstandings caused by eavesdropping in the play. The same conversation is correctly overheard by Don John's servant, Borachio. Don John is extremely jealous of Claudio's friendship with his half brother and so decides to stick a spanner in the works by telling Claudio that Don Pedro is really wooing Hero for himself and Claudio is naive enough to believe it. But Don Pedro easily sets the record straight, by announcing that Hero has agreed to marry Claudio. Leonato seems unperturbed by the sudden change in his expected son-in-law. I suppose any suitable marriage will do? And flush with his success as a matchmaker, Don Pedro sets about getting Beatrice and Benedick together.
Don John, irritated by the failure of his attempt to split up Claudio and Don Pedro, hatches another plan. Borachio has been seeing Hero's maid, Margaret, and suggests that it will be easy to get her to dress as her mistress, and act out a scene with him on Hero's balcony. Don John is going to arrange that Claudio and Don Pedro are there to see and afterwards Claudio and Don Pedro believe they have seen Hero with Borachio, and they both proceed to denounce Hero before the whole congregation at the wedding ceremony the following day.
The implication here is that Hero is no longer a virgin, which for a wealthy Elizabethan bride was a must, if only to avoid future disputes over inheritance. Ironically, Don John is an illegitimate son, but then, that would only have been a male indiscretion.

Male Indignation

They're response to Hero's alleged crime has been disturbingly swift, savage and shallow. They don't know Hero well enough to ask the question, would she do this? But their adverse reaction is mainly down to Don John pressing the right buttons; he calls their honour into question. Pride, status and honour are very important to both these men. Don John's plot quickly brings to the surface a darker side to this masculine military world. They will crack cuckolding jokes about other men's wives, but no honourable Elizabethan nobleman could allow a woman's infidelity to stain his reputation and his wife must be above suspicion. Hero's perceived infidelity has shamed Claudio in the eyes of his comrades and must be publicly avenged and only the public shaming of an unfaithful woman can remove the public shame she has inflicted on the man. Claudio's passionate anger, far exceeds the passion he has shown in loving Hero.

Pretending that she's dead

Leonato's despair at Hero's downfall may seem a little over the top. But muck sticks. If Hero were guilty, not only would she have no chance of ever getting marrying, but the reputation and social standing of Leonato would also suffer. And just the allegations might be enough. But having her own father doubt her makes Hero's sense of isolation unbearable and she faints. Friar Francis, who has been silently 'noting' her, suggests that it might be best to pretend that she is dead, since her 'wounded reputation' may still require her removal from society. Eventually, Don John's plot is uncovered when Borachio is overheard bragging about the amount of money Don John has paid him for his part in the plot and arrested. Hero is proved innocent and everyone, in particular Don Pedro and Claudio are overcome with remorse. In recompense, Claudio agrees to marry Hero's other cousin, which turns out to be Hero, no longer pretending to be dead.

In Love at last

In the meantime, Don Pedro's has arranged for Benedick to eavesdrop on Leonato, Claudio and himself while they discuss Beatrice and her secret love for Benedick. And for Beatrice to overhear Hero and Ursula discussing Benedick's secret love for her. This strategy pays off and both Beatrice and Benedick are convinced of their mutual love and eventually declare as much to each other. So when Hero is 'wronged' at the wedding, it is Benedick who takes up her cause, persuaded by his love for Beatrice. Although the crisis is resolved without bloodshed, the experience clearly changes Benedick. His love for Beatrice has moved him onto a new level of seeing and feeling. His military friends, however, remain firmly set in their old male world, cracking their tired cuckolding jokes to the very end of the play. And like Claudio and Hero, Beatrice and Benedick are intending to marry.

In conclusion

So perhaps it's fortunate that in the end Hero lives up to the chastity implied in her name and the story ends in apparent harmony. But the audience may be left with an uncomfortable vision of a society where respect is not earned through individual merit, but merely inherited. For despite the noble Claudio's unforgivable behaviour, his penance is brief, Leonato's anger even briefer and Hero is offered for a second time, in the shape of a supposed cousin, as a reward to the very man who had so cruelly and publically shamed her. And through all this, Hero, more or less, accepts it all and seems to be very willing to forgive and forget, so that she can achieve a suitable marriage. Indeed their relationship seems extremely shallow, in comparison to Benedick and Beatrice, who you get the feeling will remain happily together for life.

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