Love’s Labour’s Lost

Directed by Carol Dumbleton

This sparkling comedy was conceived by Shakespeare around 1595 with the action taking place in Navarre, a former kingdom situated between present –day France and Spain.

King Ferdinand and his three companions, Berowne, Dumaine and Longaville, all lords, have sworn an oath that for three years they will reject the world’s pleasures, including women, and commit themselves to a life of study .

No sooner have they made this idealistic pledge than trouble comes in the form of The Princess of France and her three ladies in waiting. The King and his lords fall in love almost immediately igniting a plot about the power of love over learning.

In Love’s Labour’s Lost, Shakespeare delights in championing and then unravelling an unrealistic vow while detailing the antics that ensue when one attempts to deny one’s instincts. He mischievously suggests that the study of the opposite sex is the highest of all academic endeavours. There is laughter and there are arguments but in this comedy audiences get to laugh with the characters as well as at them. Only at the end of the play is the merriment curtailed as the ladies declare their lovers must wait a year and a day to prove they are faithful.

About The Pumphouse Amphitheatre.

The amphitheatre is tucked in behind the French Rendez-vous Cafe building next to The PumpHouse main theatre. Access is via the courtyard stairs adjacent to the main theatre. Wheelchair access to the amphitheatre is via a path on the park side of the complex.

Tickets to performances in the amphitheatre are general admission i.e seating is ‘first come first served’.  The amphitheatre has tiered wooden bench seating. Seats do not have back support. If you require a seat with back support please advise the ushers when you arrive at the performance. They will provide a chair for you in the back row. Similarly, if you have any other special requirements, e.g mobility access assistance, please see one of the ushers when you arrive.

Audience members often bring cushions to sit on for greater comfort and blankets in case the evening cools down towards the end to the show. If the mozzies are biting this summer, it might a good idea to have repellent on hand.

Sorry, BYO alcohol isn’t permitted under our Liquour Licence but the French Rendez-vous Cafe Satellite Bar will be open and the usual sausage sizzle will crank into action at interval.

In the event of persistent bad weather a performance may take place inside the main theatre.  If the weather looks changeable, bring a raincoat and something waterproof to sit on. If there’s a passing shower, the performance may go ahead outdoors as planned. If a performance is cancelled, tickets may be transferred to another date in the season without incurring a transfer fee.