Ever wondered what seeing a Shakespearean comedy would be like back in the day when the Bard was still writing them? Well, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, which is presenting Love's Labour's Lost at Cal Performances this weekend, comes pretty close to the real deal.
Medieval sets? Check. Renaissance music? Check. Old English linguistic acrobats that take you back to English Lit 101? Check.
Tragic "star-crossed lovers" or angsty "to be or not to be" this play is not. Love's Labours Lost is an early Shakespearean comedy about four young nobles who resolve to keep away from the opposite sex only to fall in love with four women at first site. The plot translates well to a modern-day reality TV challenge. And it's hilarious. But bring your A-game thinking cap: the jokes are quick and the humor drenched in iambic pentameter.
Love’s Labour’s Lost plays at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall through Sunday, Nov. 8. For more info, visit http://www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/presents/season/2009/theater/sgt.php.
