A SEVEN-strong all-male company will play no less than 20 male and female roles in an unconventional UK tour of Shakespeare's sparklingly witty romantic comedy . Much Ado About Nothing stops off for four July performances in Wales, starting at Lampeter House, near Narberth, on July 9. Having survived their wettest tour on record last summer - incredibly with only one show cancelled - the Gloucestershire-based Festival Players have once more set out to bring cosmopolitan audiences their fun and easily digestible Shakespeare. Between June 1 and August 25, the professional company will give 54 mostly open-air performances of the Bard's enduring and exhilarating play at castles, amphitheatres, abbeys and palaces, National Trust gardens, parks and village greens all across England, Scotland and Wales - and including seven new venues. Director Michael Dyer, known for his crystal clear productions, says it will be his fourth all-male production in a row for the Players. "Three years ago there were some raised eyebrows when we performed A Midsummer Night's Dream without actresses. Since then, we have had all-male productions of Hamlet and As You Like It. But the feedback proved that most people were intrigued by the idea and liked what they saw. Although it might seem unusual today to field an all-male cast, it is in fact totally authentic - we are just following in the footsteps of Shakespeare's own Elizabethan Globe Theatre when all the roles were taken by men." He added: "A company of seven, like ours, is thought to be the size of the company with which Shakespeare himself toured the shires of England while the plague raged in London." Dyer, former director of Cornwall's famous open air Minack Theatre, is no stranger to adventurous settings of Shakespeare - in 2001 he advanced the Players' production of Shakespeare's Henry V into a First World War scenario. He is looking forward to the challenge of directing Much Ado which is thought to have first been performed in 1598 and which is set in Messina on the island of Sicily. He says: "It will be a fast-paced and we hope crystal clear production of a play which is often on the school syllabus. It centres on the witty war of words between longterm adversaries and reluctant lovers Benedick and Beatrice - a right royal battle of the sexes for all the family! There are themes of fidelity, friendship and matchmaking, moments of burlesque comedy and even a masked ball." David Lee-Jones, praised for his pivotal role of Rosalind in last year's As You Like It, returns to play Benedick, the wilful lord who has recently returned from the wars vowing never to marry, while Jack Cassidy takes the part of feisty Beatrice, niece of Leonato, the wealthy governor of Messina and one of Shakespeare's strongest female characters. The two engage in a contest to outwit, outsmart and out-insult each other, shielding deeper emotions, while a darker plot runs alongside concerning Leonato's daughter Hero and young soldier Claudio, victims of the villain of the play, Don John. Staffordshire-based actor Alan Christopher also returns to the Players to play nobleman Don Pedro and Ursula, while other roles are taken by Swansea's James Scannell (Don John and Margaret); Ned Finlay, also from South Wales (Leonata and Dogberry); Tom Giles (Hero and Borachio) and Leicester's Christopher Mark. The production will also unusually feature original music, specially composed by the Players' long- term musical director Johnny Coppin, who lives near Nailsworth in the Cotswolds.
