All's Well That Ends Well

All's Well That Ends Well is one of those ridiculous Shakespeare plays where you're just like, "Yeah, gender roles back in Shakespeare's time aren't really so believable now..." You know, like Taming of the Shrew. Or this one. I mean, it's not misogynistic like Taming of the Shrew, but it is kind of bred on a premise that probably wouldn't really fly today. Girl falls for hot jerk. Jerk rejects girl. (spoiler alert) Girl still so in love with jerk that he tricks him into impregnating her and then forces them to marry. Supposedly they live happily ever after. Okay, so now that we've gotten ridiculous premise out of the way, we can talk a bit more about the play.

Here goes. It's quite an interesting and enjoyable presentation of a ridiculous Shakespeare "comedy," I think. The set is composed of a very fairy-tale like evil castle, with a lot of projection used across the backdrop that is again very fairy-tale like in a dark sort of way. The first act is pretty slow and not great, but if you tough it out the second act really redeems it. It's quicker paced and much funnier, and the play is just much easier and more fun to follow. The cast is pretty good all around, though in most of the Shakespeare I've seen here (specifically Donmar's Twelfth Night, Globe's Romeo & Juliet, and this one), I just haven't been really impressed by the leading ladies (although Regent Park's Open Air Theatre's Much Ado About Nothing has been an exception). Regardless, despite the play being ridiculous, as a Travelex production for a tenner, it's probably worth a go.