With Pop-up Globe firmly planted on Aotearoa's rich soils, it is great to see a uniquely Pacific flavour infused into a sparkling production of one of Shakespeare's finest comedies.
Much Ado About Nothing, the story of band of soldiers enjoying rest and recreation after a successful military campaign, is transposed to a Pacific Island setting where director Miriama McDowell artfully weaves elements of Polynesian music, dance and ritual into the unfolding drama.
The value of this kind of cross-cultural interaction is brilliantly demonstrated in the way Pacific Island humour resonates with Shakespeare's elaborate comic constructions that often involve acute sensitivity to matters of honour and shame.
A superb performance by Semu Filipo as Benedick wins enormous audience support as his amiable disposition becomes a springboard for marvellously expressive gestures, deeply ironic vocal inflections and explosive outburst of outrage and joy.
His transformation from aloof self-sufficiency to head-over-heels in love is neatly matched by American actor Jacque Drew's stroppy and combative portrayal of the fiercely cynical Beatrice.
