The four-person cast from The Pantaloons performed one of William Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies to a loud and enthusiastic Lichfield audience at Stowe Fields.
The actors – Rachael Cummins, Paula Gilmour, Sam Lightfoot-Loftus and Christopher Smart – played all of the roles, sang and played various instruments, as well as interacting with the audience as they often broke the fourth wall during scenes but never missed a beat.
The play is one of the characters hearing the wrong things at times, seeing people who they believe to be other people.
The happy ending was never in doubt, but the shifts in mood and tone were well played by the actors.
In the character of Benedick, Christopher Smart warned an audience member about using their mobile phone twice, before confiscating it when playing the main villain Don John. In another part, armed with a banjo, Benedick aimed to write a song to woo Beatrice, asking the audience for suggestions – and their evening would have involved hang gliding around Lichfield!
The Pantaloons are all talented performers, actors, musicians and improvisers, who bring both a seriousness and a sense of levity to Shakespeare.
