The HandleBards: Much Ado About Nothing

There are moments during the Fringe when you feel like there's nowhere else you'd rather be, and nothing else you'd rather be doing. Sitting in the evening sun with a picnic in the Royal Botanic Garden while watching Shakespeare is one of those. In part, this is none of The HandleBards doing. Outdoor Shakespeare—especially when it's not raining—is a British classic. There is a lot of hummous and crudites being nibbled here.

But what The HandleBards do makes this it all a little bit more special. Their 'thing'—they have cycled 1,500 miles, dragging themselves and their sets the length of the country—is more than a gimmick. It lends to this energetic production the air of a travelling troupe of players, tapping into a long history of theatrical happening. Their performance of Much Ado About Nothing is not about breaking with the old, or mining the text for new meaning. It's about revelling in tradition, making the most of the ribald sauciness of Shakespeare's comedy – having fun with the words rather than worrying about the characters. And the four-strong team do indeed have fun with the words, which they know inside out and back to front.

Of course, being a four-man troupe does have its limitations – however slickly they work together. There are some nice touches used to delineate the multiple characters they must all take on – the ding of a bicycle bell providing a fitting and pacey marker of role change. But it's a big obstacle, and you need to have read your York Notes or risk confusion. The cast engage out-of-character with the audience beautifully, and could use more of this time and skill to give a bit of a primer before they begin. They needn't worry about it taking the sheen off a fun, fast freewheel through Shakespeare at his hey-nonny-nonniest.