MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING | 7th - 25th July 2026

The Guardian

What's On Stage

"When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I would live till I were married." 

Summer 1945. To celebrate victory, four women return to the village where they passed an idyllic pre-war summer. Unbeknownst to them, their one-time lovers are also on their way back. As a reunion masked ball is thrown and the inept Home Guard fail to keep order, the course of true love runs anything but smooth.

GSC returns to Shakespeare’s beloved romantic comedy, featuring the ultimate on-off couple, as the sparky Beatrice and Benedick who struggle to deny their mutual attraction.

Tom Littler (The Rivals; Twelfth Night; Artistic Director, Orange Tree Theatre), returns to GSC following his triumphant Hamlet with Freddie Fox in the title role, links the stories of Love’s Labour’s Lost with Much Ado About Nothing (also known as Love’s Labour’s Won) to create a satisfying saga of love. Tom directed our 5-star 'sure fire summer hit' in 2016.

Original music will be composed by the internationally acclaimed Matthew Floyd Jones (Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder, West End; Nanny, BBC Radio 4; A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad), Fringe First Award; The Elmer Adventure, Tall Stories), best recognised as one half of the acclaimed comedy duo Frisky & Mannish.

A co-production with the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond (The Stage Theatre of the Year 2025).

GSC co-founder, Matt Pinches: 'The prospect of staging these two beloved comedies and returning to Braboeuf Manor is incredibly exciting for our 20^th Anniversary. As the first show we produced, Much Ado will always hold a special place in our hearts, and to pair it so sensitively as Tom has done with Love’s Labour’s Lost is something very special. Beautifully staged Shakespeare, full of feel-good factor fun in an idyllic setting… what better way to spend a summer evening?'

Director, Tom Littler, adds: 'I am delighted to help celebrate the 20^th birthday of one of my favourite theatre companies, Guildford Shakespeare Company. I loved directing these two great comedies a decade ago, and I'm excited by the opportunity to return to them and, this time, to tie them together as a rich and sweeping narrative that sees love gained, lost, and, against the odds, won again. It's a treat to be back in Guildford, and to share these plays with audiences in London too - in the Orange Tree's first visit to the gardens of Thomas's College on Richmond Hill.'

These two shows will be performed by a single fabulous ensemble.

Returning familiar faces include: Sally Cheng (My Neighbour Totoro, RSC/West End; Twelfth Night, Regent’s Park) and James Sheldon (The Rivals, Orange Tree Theatre; Pride & Prejudice, Bolton Octagon) were both in our 2018 Love’s Labour’s Lost; Jeremy Lloyd (Singin’ in the Rain, Jonathan Church Prod; Spike, Watermill Theatre) played Antipholus of Syracuse in last year’s The Comedy of Errors; Owen Oakeshott (The Mousetrap, West End; Witness for the Prosecution, Eleanor Lloyd Prod) previously appeared in The Taming of the Shrew (2015) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream/The Two Gentlemen of Verona (2017).

Making their GSC debuts are Joëlle Brabban (The Rivals, Orange Tree; Romeo & Juliet, Grosvenor Park Open Air), Chirag Benedict Lobo (Private Lives, BOV, Rose, Octagon; The Circle, Orange Tree), Phoebe Pryce (The Crucible, Shakespeare’s Globe; The Importance of Being Earnest, Manchester Royal Exchange) and Robin Simpson (Laurel and Hardy, New Vic Theatre/SJT; The Last Picture, York Theatre Royal/ETT; Much Ado About Nothing, Northern Broadsides).

…and our co-founders Sarah Gobran and Matt Pinches return for our 70^th & 71^st productions!

Written by William Shakespeare
GSC Producers Sarah Gobran & Matt Pinches
Directed & Adapted by Tom Littler
Associate Director Millie Gaston
Set & Costume Designer Neil Irish
Original Music Composed by Matthew Floyd Jones
Movement Director & Choreographer Asha Jennings-Grant
Co-Costume Designer & Costume Supervisor Anett Black
Sound Designer Matt Eaton
Fight Director Philip d’Orléans
GSC Production & Company Stage Manager Hannah Walker
Deputy Stage Manager Megan Smith
Assistant Stage Manager Ebony Fosuhene
ASM Placement Sophie Taylor-Hall