Writer: William Shakespeare
Director: Madison Cole
By the end of Much Ado About Nothing, the characters may well jadedly sigh that ‘no one told them life was gonna be this way,’ and it has led director Madison Cole to design an abridged version of Shakespeare’s comedy drama about lovers’ woes based around the sitcom Friends. Set largely in a coffee shop entitled “Leonarto’s,” The Constellation Players certainly pay tribute to the US show in the visual styling of this 70-minute production built around a large central sofa that pulls plenty of costume and character references from the Marta Kauffman and David Crane original.
In shortening this version of the play to fill a late Camden Fringe 2025 spot at the Bridewell Theatre, Cole and the creative team have dispensed with almost everyone except the lovers and Don Predo, while the villainous Don John is remodelled as early Friends villain Ursula, taking it down to a neat six characters plus evil twin. There is a little bit of last-minute finagling to squeeze in Hero’s betrayal, which is necessary to make the ending work, but on the whole, the version of the play that The Constellation Players present is a satisfying one.
In terms of the plot, the Friends staging has mixed success, largely because, other than maid Margaret, who is clearly a Phoebe (Mary Jensik), it’s not really clear who the remaining cast is modelled on. Timothy Dennett’s Benedick seems to be a Chandler, but Saskia Mollard’s otherwise impressive Beatrice initially appears to be Monica, but then works in the café like Rachel. Jamie Wisely’s outfit for Hero owes more to Jennifer Aniston’s wardrobe in the series, while both Ronan Quinou’s Claudio and Sam Nafisi’s Don Pedro have qualities of Joey. No one is Ross. Maybe the company aren’t even attempting direct comparisons, yet the audience is distracted trying to work this out.
Some of the other ideas could be pushed further. There’s a really interesting frame in which the cast prepare to record the latest episode, wrangling over new script pages and management, but the concept isn’t utilised again. Maybe the show could break the play down into two or three episodes that retain these opportunities to step back into the studio world. Equally, a single instance of canned laughter and some late cooing over the happy endings are also ideas that are forgotten once the central story takes over, although there are some easter egg references to key Friends scenarios and costumes to look out for.
The verse itself, on the whole, is performed well, the cast capturing the comic moments and the balance with the darker drama well. Mollard’s Beatrice is particularly funny as she learns of Benedick’s love while skirting around the sofa, and it’s great to see an angry, righteous Hero filled with agency, able to set the agenda herself to punish Claudio. But the merging of worlds is inconsistent, and perhaps there is a version of the play that honours Shakespeare’s plot but uses the language of Friends as well as its coffee house setting.
Runs until 27 August 2025
