William Shakespeare - Love's Labour's Lost DVD 2010 / Opus Arte / Play Directed by Dominic Dromgoole / Film Director: Ian Russel / Main Roles: Jade Anouka, Gemma Arterton, Philip Cumbus / Filmed live at Shakespeare's Globe, London

OA1035 D

UPC 809478010357

ALL REGIONS NTSC DVD

MADE IN THE UK

AUDIO: ENGLISH 2.0, English 5.1

SUBTITLES: -

TOTAL RUNTIME: 166 MINUTES

English Summary:

When the King of Navarre and his three courtiers forswear all pleasure - particularly of  the female variety — in favour of a life of study, the arrival of the Princess of France and her ladies plays havoc with their intentions.
Using every kind of verbal gymnastics to poke fun, Shakespeare’s most intellectual comedy is brought to hilarious life in Dominic Dromgoole’s highly entertaining production,
rich in visual humour and sexual innuendo. Jonathan Fensom’s knot garden and original music by Claire van Kampen create the framework for an engaging performance by an excellent cast.

Filmed live in High Definition and true surround sound.

Spoken in Shakespeare’s English with English subtitles

Love's Labour's Lost is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions as they attempt to swear off the company of women for three years in order to focus on study and fasting. Their subsequent infatuation with the Princess of France and her ladies makes them forsworn. In an untraditional ending for a comedy, the play closes with the death of the Princess's father, and all weddings are delayed for a year. The play draws on themes of masculine love and desire, reckoning and rationalisation, and reality versus fantasy.

Though first published in quarto in 1598, the play's title page suggests a revision of an earlier version of the play. While there are no obvious sources for the play's plot, the four main characters are loosely based on historical figures. The use of apostrophes in the play's title varies in early editions, though it is most commonly given as Love's Labour's Lost.

Shakespeare's audiences were familiar with the historical personages portrayed and the political situation in Europe relating to the setting and action of the play. Scholars suggest the play lost popularity as these historical and political portrayals of Navarre's court became dated and less accessible to theatergoers of later generations. The play's sophisticated wordplay, pedantic humour and dated literary allusions may also be cause for its relative obscurity, as compared with Shakespeare's more popular works. Love's Labour's Lost was rarely staged in the 19th century, but it has been seen more often in the 20th and 21st centuries, with productions by both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, among others. It has also been adapted as a musical, an opera, for radio and television and as a musical film.

Cast

Boyet:
Tom Stuart

Princess of France:
Michelle Terry

Dull:
Andrew Vincent

Mercade:
James Lailey

When the King of Navarre and his three courtiers forswear all pleasure - particularly of the female variety - in favour of a life of study, the arrival of the Princess of France and her ladies plays havoc with their intentions. Using every kind of verbal gymnastics to poke fun, Shakespeare's most intellectual comedy is brought to hilarious life in Dominic Dromgoole's highly entertaining production, rich in visual humour and sexual innuendo. Jonathan Fensom's knot garden and original music by Claire van Kampen create the framework for an engaging performance by an excellent cast. Filmed live in High Definition and true surround sound.

Press Reviews
"Dominic Dromgoole's zestful production succeeds in captivating the audience to a degree that I would not have thought possible...It's a treat" (The Independent)

"With a delightful design and jaunty music it has abundant charm...Entirely enchanting." (The Times)

Cast
Philip Cumbus (King of Navarre)
Trystan Gravelle (Berowne)
William Mannering (Longaville)
Jack Farthing (Dumaine)
Michelle Terry (Princess of France)
Thomasin Rand (Rosaline)

Production
Company: Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
Stage Director: Dominic Dromgoole
Television Director: Ian Russell

Disc Information
Catalogue Number: OA1035D
Date of Performance: 2009
Running Time: 166 minutes
Sound: 2.0 PCM & 5.1 DTS
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic
Subtitles: EN (in Shakespearean English)
Label: Opus Arte