Shakespeare's Globe gender-swaps characters in Much Ado About Nothing for teenage audience

Anna Davis @_annadavis27 February 2018

The director of the Globe’s latest production of Much Ado About Nothing says he has swapped the gender of some of Shakespeare’s characters to make it more relevant to teenagers.

More than 20,000 free tickets to the play will be given away to London state school children who may never have gone to the theatre before.

In the production, which is performed in modern dress, there are equal numbers of actors and actresses on the stage. The normally male character of Dogberry has been changed to “Mistress Dogberry”, and the villain Don John has become Donna Joan.

Director Michael Oakley said: “The play feels incredibly modern and the gender politics feel more relevant than 10 years ago. We will have a diverse audience and we have a diverse cast. I hope we keep everyone entertained and spark a debate.”

The free tickets are funded by Deutsche Bank as part of its Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank programme. Much Ado About Nothing will run at Shakespeare’s Globe until March 21.

Schools can book at playingshakespeare.org

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