PRINCIPAL CAST: Edward Bennett (King of Navarre); Joe Dixon (Don Armado); Mariah Gale (Princess of France); Nina Sosanya (Rosaline); David Tennant (Berowne).

This production ran from 2 October - 15 November 2008.

"[David] Tennant is a highly amusing livewire in Gregory Doran's Elizabethan-dressed production, his native Scots accent and cheeky youthfulness bringing a vibrant swagger to Berowne's sardonic quips. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop this early romcom looking sketchily underdeveloped. Tennant's Berowne and Nina Sosanya's bright, spiky Rosaline barely have time to fall for each other. The supporting cast, meanwhile, have their exuberant moments, especially Joe Dixon's dandified Don Armado - fanning his codpiece."  ~ Kate Bassett, "Ayckbourn's three reasons to be cheerful", Independent on Sunday, 12 October 2008

"David Tennant is back at Stratford, glimmering away. As the reluctant lover Berowne in Shakespeare's most word-clotted comedy, his Glasgow-to-Renfrewshire accent is a welcome excursion from RSC RP: his brooding beguiles. He also supplies physical grace, whether leaping up the tree from which designer Francis O'Connor dangles Perspex leaes, or sauntering around Nina Sosanya, whose deliciously crisp Rosaline is the find of the evening."  ~ Susannah Clapp, "Pause for applause", The Observer, 12 October 2008

"Nor is his Scots-accented Berowne quite the madcap joker, the 'man replete with mocks' whose prime appeal is to 'shallow laughing fools': which is how he's described by Nina Sosanya's enchanting young Rosaline, whom he hopes to marry....There are nice supporting performances. Joe Dixon is Don Armado, the parody Spaniard grandee who combines fake stateliness with a verbal delivery that gives ordinary English syllables embarrassing double meanings."  ~ Benedict Nightingale, "The Doctor brings the house down", The Times, 10 October 2008

"It will be a long time before I forget Riann Steele's country wench suggestively fondling her milk churn"  ~ Charles Spencer, "Tennant shines amid the wit and naughtiness", Daily Telegraph, 10 October 2008

"Nina Sosanya plays Rosaline as an embryonic Beatrice"  ~ Michael Billington, "Sparky Tennant scores again", The Guardian, 10 October 2008

"Joe Dixon is one of the most skilled Shakespearean comics on the books. His Armado gets mileage out of bawdy mispronunciations, which may grow stale but probably are not unfaithful to original practice."  ~ Ian Shuttleworth, "High comedy of love gone awry", Financial Times, 13 October 2008