Jamie's Reviews > Much Ado About Nothing

Anyone else think that Hero is way too forgiving? I mean, the most that Claudio would be getting from me by the end of this play is a swift kick to the, um … knee. 😉

But, anyway, Much Ado About Nothing is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, and you probably don't need me to sing its praises since there are thousands of other reviews already doing just that. What I do want to talk about, however, is the BBC audiobook recording.

First off, the actors are brilliant, especially David Tennant who is the voice of Benedick. I've no complaints there. This, however, is the second BBC Shakespeare audiobook I've listened to now, and it's also the second where they've arranged scenes out of order. Which is forgivable, I suppose, since Shakespeare tends to weave back and forth between storylines and I guess putting like next to like probably makes it easier for listeners to keep track of what's going on. Fine. But in this one, they also LEFT OUT ACT ONE, SCENE TWO. It's not absolutely essential, but it does provide important context for a later scene. And it can't be more than three minutes' worth of recording, so why? Why would they leave it out? Luckily, the text of this play is everywhere on the internet, so if you're listening to the BBC recording I highly recommend giving that particular scene a quick read.

But, yeah, this is still one of my favorites despite some questionable decisions made by the BBC's audiobook department. It's a delightful read (or listen). Five stars.