STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.
(Photo Credit: Grande Prairie Live Theatre)
By Nathaniel Leigh
GPLT

GPLT’s production of Much Ado About Nothing opens May 8

May 8, 2025 | 7:00 AM

Grande Prairie Live Theatre’s 2024-2025 season closes out with a staging of the Shakespeare classic Much Ado About Nothing.

Director Agnes Pasko says the romantic comedy follows two couples in 16th-century Italy as they come together while dealing with mistaken identities, misunderstandings and witty disagreements.

“Young lovers: Claudio and Hero, and the sparring Beatrice and Benedick,” Pasko says. “Two quite different love stories. In the first we have love almost at first sight, threatened by deception. And in the second we have transitioned from enemies to lovers.”

(Photo Credit: Grande Prairie Live Theatre)

Pasko became attached to the project after actors Rory Tarant and Michal Pasko attempted to revive the show, after a previous production in 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

“So, Rory, who is playing the Prince, banned together with Michal, who plays Benedick, to produce the show independently,” she says. “Seeing Rory and Michal’s determination to have this play included in this season, and because the classical plays are my speciality, I gladly accepted to be their director.”

(Photo Credit: Grande Prairie Live Theatre)

She says she wanted to create an as close as possible recreation of Shakespeare’s original version, keeping the script as written and not updating the setting or costumes.

“Reading Shakespeare can be difficult today, and some people struggle with understanding early modern English,” she says. “Shakespeare’s plays were written to be seen. When you watch it, everything makes sense and you understand why he is named the greatest playwright of all time.”

(Photo Credit: Grande Prairie Live Theatre)

The show includes period-inspired clothing and a set designed by award-winning artist Tim Heimdal, featuring beautiful depictions of a hedge maze and flowers.

Much Ado About Nothing is being performed at GPLT every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from May 8 to 24, with doors opening at 7:00 p.m.

(Photo Credit: Grande Prairie Live Theatre)
by Nathaniel Leigh