Ok now to my second Shakespeare adaptation review and this time I will tell you about Much Ado About Nothing which I am pretty sure was the first one that aired on TV. You see I have only watched them on video as they were recorded for me so not sure exactly when they were aired. As you can see I have given this adaptation five stars too so this is why.

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Actual Story of Much Ado About Nothing:

An army including Don Pedro, Benedick and a hero called Claudio arrive in Messina. Claudio falls in love with governor Leonato’s daughter Hero. Benedick makes fun of Claudio for falling in love and believes that only fools fall in love. Don Pedor on the other hand dislikes Claudio and tries to get Hero for himself. Leonatos niece Beatrice too does not believe in love and everybody cooks up a plan to get Beatrice and Benedick to fall in love with each other.


The Modern Adaptation:

(Taken from the BBC website)
When the bickering between broadcasters Beatrice and Benedick gets too much to take, their colleagues at South West TV come up with a cunning plan to shut the pair up. Meanwhile, lovely weathergirl Hero and dashing reporter Claude are a match made in heaven – but does everyone want to see them so happy?


Verdict on the story:

What a fantastic adaptation and pure genius to set the show up around two broadcasters as they have no choice but to work closely together. This adaptation does follow the original story pretty well and the similarities between the two are there for everybody to see as they are so obvious. Also I think although they do not use the same language as in the play, the dialogue does come close to what is said in the play and the characters are exactly how you would expect them to be.

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Cast and Characters:

Billie Piper – Hero.
Sarah Parish – Beatrice.
Damian Lewis – Benedick.
Derek Riddell – Don.
Tom Ellis – Claude.


Verdict on the cast and characters:

I am a big fan of Sarah Parish from cutting it and Billie Piper from Doctor Who so I knew that with a brilliant cast like this I would not have to worry about any bad acting and I knew that I had faith in this production. Every actor in this show are perfectly chosen and their comedic timing is perfect. Parish and Lewis shine as Beatrice and Benedick and they provide the funniest piece of British television I have watched in a long time. They are all fantastic in their roles and due to it being quite a fun story to film they do look like they are really enjoying themselves.

The characters in this show are extremely brilliant and if you have read the play then you will know exactly what to expect. I think the thing about this show is that there is only one nasty character but everybody else is really fun and nice so you can’t help but enjoy watching them. Because there are only a few main characters you do really get to care for them over the ninety minutes that the programme is on for so me and my sister were glued to our seats while it was on.

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Things to know:

Runtime – 90 minutes.
BBC Production.

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The Actual Show:

Unlike Macbeth this show has no really nasty parts and although there is a character who is deemed the bad guy you do not have to worry about any stabbings or killing in this show so it is suitable for most to watch. It is mainly a comedy and should make everybody who watches it laugh so if you do want something to make you laugh then you could do worse than this.

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My Verdict:

Most people will know that Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy and this is what this TV show was – pure comedy. With a fantastic story and some well known actors this show was a huge hit on the TV and I can see why. I remember the Kenneth Branagh film version and loving it but this TV version is more watchable as like Macbeth it does not use the Shakespearian language.

Now the actual adaptation is brilliant and I would have no reserve in recommending it to anybody who would listen. I think that to recreate Shakespeare is hard enough but to modernise it and completely change the story but keep the essentials in there is a hard thing to do but they manage it well. I think my favourite part of the story is the whole relationship between Beatrice and Benedick as it is so touching and sweet that you can’t help but love the two of them.

One thing I love about this adaptation is so colourful the production is as it actually makes you enjoy watching the show more. Every character is dressed in bright clothes and all of the sets are really fun so this by itself makes the show attractive to me. The fact that the posters for the show look fun it must have drawn a lot of people to watch it over Christmas. In fact just go to google and type in Much Ado About Nothing BBC and go to images and you will see what I mean.

The other thing to mention about this show is that it is easy to watch and the ninety minutes go by quite quickly. Me and my sister enjoyed it because we did not need to worry about anything nasty happening and we just enjoyed watching it for the pure fact that it is a funny show.

In conclusion I am going to give this TV film five stars because I think it was brilliant and if I was pushed to choose which adaptation out of the four was the best then I would probably say this one. I love comedy and I think that most people will find this appealing to watch.

Thanks for reading.

xxx