The first of Sport for Jove’s summer season was a Shakespearean comedy that is rarely performed. Full of scintillating, at times inscrutable wit, the play was quite possibly written for an eclectic, sophisticated audience. Described by the director, Damian Ryan as a ‘sketch’, the business of Love’s Labour’s Lost involves courtiers withdrawing from political life for the purpose of academic reflection only to be interrupted by a delegation of women lead by the Princess of France.
This was a spritely production with evocative Elizabethan costumes and a dizzying sense of fun. I particularly liked the witty ripostes between Moth (brilliantly played by Aaron Tsindos) and his master Don Adriano de Armado and others. The men are shaken from their intended course but the women ultimately refuse their overtures.
Ryan’s adaptation, championing same sex marriage equality and its triumph for women certainly made it a contemporary and relevant offering. A highly enjoyable summer evening’s entertainment.