Much Ado About Nothing - Dramatisation
Introduction and overview
Much Ado About Nothing is a play. It is important to remember that it was written to be performed. Unlike a novel, which is designed to be enjoyed by one person silently reading alone, a play is intended to be a shared experience. Actors take on the roles of different characters and bring them to life through movement, voice and gesture. The audience responds to the performance, props and special effects as well as the words that are spoken.
A play is open to interpretation. There are many different ways to perform the same lines. Choices that a director makes will influence the audience's interpretations. It is a live event that changes: even when the same actors are involved, the theatre audience will be different every night.
When thinking about this play, consider how the following aspects of dramatisation might be used to different effect:
- casting choices
- performance choices
- staging choices, props and special effects