There's always been something rotten lurking at the center of Much Ado. As in Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night's Dream, the violence that occurs throughout the play - the cruelty, loss of agency, threats, fights, deceptiveness, and lies - are uncomfortably glossed over by the end as we all celebrate  reconciliation and joyful partnering. Comedy is complex; jokes are always made at someone's expense. 

We played with these ideas in this production and took  inspiration from steampunk - which has also been accused of glossing over the violence of British imperialism - for our designs. With its roots in maker culture and cosplay, this look seemed appropriate to both our tone and our staging. We performed outside in a public space, offering free admission and allowing audience members to watch as much (or as little) of the play as they had time for. This was part of a larger initiative at E-52 to draw more people into the theater and to challenge our traditional ways of telling stories. 

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