Vann Garden, Godalming – until 15 August 2021
Reviewed by Antonia Hebbert
3***
An enchanting garden, a summer evening and a Shakespeare comedy full of playfulness. What more could you want? (Apart from midge repellent, which would have been handy as it got dark.) This is a production by Troubadour Stageworks, who put on shows in non-theatre spaces, such as gardens, village greens and churches. They’re young, enthusiastic, and confident with the text. I took along a 23-year-old who said he struggles with Shakespeare, but these actors made it easy to understand. He loved the show.
All’s Well That Ends Well is tricky, because its clever and resourceful heroine Helena (Jasmine Silk) seems far too good for Bertram, the dim plonker (he really is) that she loves. The shenanigans that bring the two together for a happy ending are potentially nauseating. Then there’s a subplot involving Bertram’s loudmouth friend Parolles, whose unscrupulousness shadows Bertram’s own. But this production manages to find the happiness and fun. Bruce Allinson’s Bertram is gullible rather than horrible, and Megan Good’s Parolles is positively lovable. The second half bounced along as the cast seemed to find extra energy in the different characters they played. Sophy Taylor Lafeu and Dan Nash especially had fine comic timing and big voices.
It helps to be watching in the lovely setting of Vann Garden, beside a beautiful old house. The actors are on the lawn, with the audience all around. The scene setting consisted of a large chair being moved, which was super-simple but effective. It was sometimes difficult to hear when the actors turned away, and sometimes they just talked too fast (at least for me). If you don’t know the play, you should definitely prepare by getting a rough idea of the plot, and read the brief synopsis in the programme. And take chairs, blankets, picnic and midge repellant for the evening show.