Love’s Labour’s Lost at Shakespeare’s Globe Review

Few things in this life are more perfect than Shakespeare under an open sky.  As the summer season swings into its peak, Shakespeare’s Globe is offering Love Labour’s Lost as an exuberant visual feast for our senses. Director Indiana Lown-Collins has added a distinct flamenco flair to one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies of yearning lovers, which coincides with one of the hottest and most unrelenting summers on record.

As one of the earliest of Shakespeare’s plays, the story has a lot of dense but very rhythmic prose and a packed plot filled with misdirected letters, yearning men, feisty heroines and delayed happy endings. Many scholars argue it is a predecessor to the later Much Ado About Nothing (which the Globe is showing at the same time as this production), with the fast flirtations of witty Berowne and Rosaline a prime example. Director Indiana Lown-Collins has kept the core of the storyline intact, where the King of Navarre (Ned Costello) and his besom besties Berowne (Philip Arditi), Dumaine (Jax Guerrero), and Longaville (Philip Labey) are foreswearing all comfort and entertainment to devote themselves entirely to studying for the next three years. They are only allowed Costard (Joshua Hill) and Don Armando (Andro Crespo) to support and entertain them. Naturally, Shakespeare delights in ripping up this ideal of male bonding time by introducing the Princess of Spain (France in the original text and played by Norah Lopez Holden) and her ladies Rosaline (Bea Segura), Katherine (Suzanne Ahmet), and Maria (Katy Stephens). All too quickly, love occurs, and the attempts to woo the princesses quickly occur.

This play is bursting with comedic talent. Joshua Hill often stole the show in his moments on stage and kept the audience highly engaged and rooting for him. Norah Lopez Holden was a charismatic and uplifting presence on stage, which held the audience rapt, especially during her matador scene. Suzanne Ahmet was hilarious as the curate and ladies’ maid. Philip Arditi, Jax Guerrero, Philip Labey and Philip Labey were wonderful examples of yearning love and had the entire audience rooting for them. Katy Stephens and Bea Segura were fierce and fabulous in their ladies-in-waiting role and had wonderful chemistry with Holden.

Katie Lias’s design of the set was dazzling and filled with colourful tiles and a motif of gold and blue which easily transported the story and audience into Medieval Europe. Her costume choices are fantastic, including some very large golden codpieces and fluttering colourful dresses. One of the strongest elements of Spanish flair was the incredible choreography by Carmen Igarza. Each act is opened by Pablo Egea and Anita La Maltesa, who are professional flamenco dancers, to a stylish number which the entire cast joins in to create a resounding staccato of noise and style. They are dressed in blue and gold, matching the set, and this further illustrates the ethereal nature of their roles in grounding us into this time period. Egea’s role as the bull is also stunning choreography, which had the audience gasping and cheering along.

Even in a truly sweltering 30 degrees, the cast and crew truly shined in a phenomenal group performance that was thoroughly enjoyable to watch. The pacing of an hour and a half for the first act and an hour for the second act worked well to keep the pace moving swiftly and joyfully along. The audience absolutely roared with delight in this show, and the high spirits of the cast were equally reflected in the audience, who were laughing throughout. I definitely was beaming throughout the entire show and left with a bounce in my step, dreaming of signing up to try flamenco classes and visiting the sunny Iberian Peninsula.   

This is the perfect summer show to enrich your life with whimsy and colour. If you enjoy stunning Shakespeare adaptations, puns and visual gags galore, a brilliant cast and a truly joyful night out, then this is the show for you.

Love’s Labour’s Lost plays at Shakespeare’s Globe until 13 September.

★★★★★

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Reviewed by Cathie, 30 July 2026.