Love’s Labour’s Lost starring Luke Thompson – Review Round-up

"Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson heads frothy hit"

"Although the abrupt shift in the storyline at the end always casts a shadow in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Emily Burns’s Polynesian update of Shakespeare’s comedy about oaths, abstinence and romantic entanglements is a frothy romp in which pungent visual humour neatly complements the often esoteric wordplay."

"Thompson...is extremely light on his feet here; he makes every line sing. Still, this is very much an ensemble effort."

"Luke Thompson... a joyous performance of considerable charisma"

"An audacious new dawn at the RSC begins"

"A notably bright and bouncy production of this lesser performed Shakespeare comedy promises great things to come from the company's new regime"

"Luke Thompson, a fine classical player... is the lead here and it is a joyous performance of considerable charisma. It is richly to be hoped that where Thompson leads, more of such standing will follow."

"The jauntiness of the central premise, full of pranks and fancy-dress japes in the resort’s spa, is ebulliently staged, with some perky choreography from movement director Shelley Maxwell whenever the two quartets face up to each other. Yet other sections of LLL, containing some of the densest and most abstruse lines in the canon, are the sort of thing that gives Shakespearean “comedy” a bad name. "

"The so-called comic characters, headed by flamboyant Spaniard Don Armado (Jack Bardoe), can prove a gruelling endurance test and hard as Burns tries to lighten the verbal load with an abundance of extravagant gestures and silly voices, the audience remained benignly bewildered in these scenes."

"Yet no matter, as the fault for this lies squarely with Shakespeare himself. The confidence of Burns’s vision and the easy anchoring assurance of Thompson’s performance triumph and Bermudez achieves a sombre majesty at the conclusion’s sad news"

"Shakespeare updated with lashings of White Lotus"

"Emily Burns’s luxury wellness resort setting lends satire and slapstick to a muddled play"

"What to do with this muddle of a play, stuffed with antique jokes and wordplay, a spoiler in the very title and a wobbling, uncertain ending? Love’s Labour’s Lost is ripe for a complete overhaul, and director Emily Burns, fresh from Dear Octopus, certainly gives us that"

"The immediate reference, after Joanna Scotcher’s astounding set has morphed from presidential address to arcaded and grass-hemmed retreat, is TV’s satire of the super-rich, White Lotus."

"Luke Thompson looks as if he’s going to make a mess of witty Berowne with his slouching, hand-flapping and gurning, until love transforms the character into a more thoughtful fellow."

"it’s Jack Bardoe as the goofy Spanish braggart Don Armado (in wincingly tight shorts) and Nathan Foad as the dim-witted but ever game Costard who run away with every scene they’re in, together with notable Holofernes Tony Gardner."

"What to do about that ending? The tone abruptly darkens, and Burns conjures up a finale which is stirring, moving, but which also feels bolted on."

"oozing charm from a Bridgerton star, but choreographed silliness steals the show"

"Burns’ production is attentive to the language without being daunted by it – there are judicious edits and fresh, anachronistic ad-libs. Aside from being superbly cast, it has terrific tonal certainty; even when some abstruse word-play gets aired, it feels grounded in relatable attitudes."

"Inevitably, a lot of Bridgerton fans’ eyes will be on the photogenic Thompson who’s a straight fit for romantic intrigue. Aside from oozing charm as Berowne, the most sceptical of Navarre’s party, he prompts titters as he shinnys up a palm-tree to eavesdrop on his oath-breaking pals, and a dash of titillation as he strips down to his undies to profess his bare devotion to Ionna Kimbrook’s aloof and amused Rosaline."

"Swoon ye may, but it’s the choreographed silliness that gladdens the heart, from Jack Bardoe’s strutting hoot of a Spaniard Don Armado, like a Borat avant la lettre, to the self-made bachelors appearing in knight in armour costumes to the boyband sound of I Want it That Way. "

"A clever take on Shakespeare’s comedy that cuts through the verbiage – with help from a Bridgerton stalwart"

"Its tale of men who swear to abandon the company of women – and then don’t – is often choked with the flamboyant wordplay it parodies. Yet under the direction of Emily Burns – apparently fresh from staging Dear Octopus at the National – the gamble has paid off."

"Burns cannot make every line of this “alms basket of words” ultra clear: nearly every character wants to obfuscate with their patter. Yet her production tugs the audience over the “fire-new” verbiage. Luke Thompson, of Bridgerton, is particularly nimble as the most sceptical and dextrous of the word-spinners; Abiola Owokoniran effortless as King Ferdinand."

"Tech bros get swiped left in pitch perfect japes"

"Emily Burns’ modern-day romcom, set on a Pacific island retreat, ramps up the silliness and makes accessible the text’s cloud-parting power and wordplay"

"This early Shakespearean comedy might be rich in verse but it is a tricky play to pull off for its strained Elizabethan-era wordplay, convoluted subplots and too inevitable downfall of four men who swear off women – only to crack on the arrival of a female convoy."

"Emily Burns’ whimsical production does not aim to eke out contemporary messages on masculinity but amps up the silliness, turning it into a modern-day romcom whose joke comes at the expense of Ferdinand (Abiola Owokoniran) and his trio of tech bros, including Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson as the sceptical Berowne."

"But where the physical comedy is crassly overplayed through minor characters, the central lovestruck men, and smartly rejecting women, hit the perfect tone. Burns’ achievement is in the pitch perfect physical comedy here, as well as making the arcane wordplay accessible (on the whole) while preserving the sudden, cloud-parting poetry of the play."

"Thompson seems at home with Shakespearean verse, his Berowne a lovable buffoon, who has flirtatious chemistry with Rosaline (Ioanna Kimbook)."

"Luke Thompson is magnetic"

"Emily Burns’ modern, Polynesia-set take on this tricky early comedy is a laugh-a-minute delight"

"High-spirited and oozing sparky chemistry, it’s a delight."

"As excitable ladies’ man Berowne, Luke Thompson is magnetic, although Burns could afford him licence to luxuriate over the play’s juiciest lines, which are sometimes taken at a lick. Opposite him, Ioanna Kimbook is a gloriously sassy Rosaline; the pair’s early verbal spar is a highlight. Nathan Foad’s camp, flouncing Costard brings apt huffy indignation to his letter-muddling scenes. An expressive Sarita Gabony makes much of the small part of Maria; while Jack Bardoe’s testosterone-fuelled, tennis-playing Don Armado and Iskandar Eaton’s impish Moth are an entertaining double act."

"Burns’ playful production goes a long way towards giving this comedy, where women call the shots and happy endings are suspended, a new shot of sun-soaked energy."