Much Ado: CST, 2003: Beatrice (Julie Eccles) mocks Benedick (Charles Shaw Robinson).

Most Shakespearean comedies were performed in contemporary Elizabethan costume, so our modern dress has an equivalent effect. Modern, less constricting costumes allow actors much more subtle body language for feeling, as here, where Beatrice obviously revels in her domination of Benedick as shown in her provocative posture, while Benedick's defensiveness is equally apparent. Modern feminism stresses such female authority in a way that was implicit in Shakespeare's drafting of the relationship with Beatrice as a proto-feminist. Note the "color blind" casting of Leonato (L. Peter Callender), and the omnipresent musicians. Music for song and dance was important on the Elizabethan stage. The night's darkness behind the stage provides a sufficient backdrop.