ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

Arpana at Shakespeare's Globe

06.05.2014

One of the hits of the 2012 Globe to Globe season, this unfussy feel-good adaptation returns for a brief run on the bloodied boards of Shakespeare's Globe.

Performed in Gujarati, it shifts the action from Renaissance France to India, 1905, using a popular theatre idiom to tell the basic tale, with plenty of music, song and dance.

Much of the subtlety and the irony is jettisoned with the language, but the salient plot points survive, in a broadly comedic production by Sunil Shanbag. Bertram becomes Bharatram, keen to succeed in business in Bombay – his production number evocation of the big city [with Parbat – Parolles – his chum] is one of many musical highlights. Heli [Shakespeare's Helen] persistently pursues him, curing an amusingly ailing King of France [now Gokuldas] on the way.

All very enjoyable, whether or not you're able to laugh along with the many jokes; a colourful celebration of Shakespeare on the subcontinent.