Derby Shakespeare Company’s summer production of “Love’s Labour’s Lost” reimagined the original play, setting the story amidst a music festival and turning the Princess and her friends into a girl band. Even before the play had been cast, director Leni explained her vision to the group, and I began looking through the script and trying to work out how this update might work. I had loved being involved in Derby Shakespeare’s previous summer play “Romeo and Juliet”, and was keen to be involved in this year’s, but I wasn’t sure which character to audition for, and wasn’t particularly familiar with the story (although I had seen a production at the RSC in 2024).
Whilst reading the script online, I came across Holofernes, a schoolmaster who tries to make himself sound clever by using long words and Latin phrases. One scene sees the schoolmaster spontaneously invent a poem retelling a deer hunt that has just occurred in the story. I thought it would be fun to take this scene, and turn it into a freestyle rap, which might work with the music festival setting, and if nothing else, would surely give Leni and the rest on the casting panel something to remember me by!
My audition was successful, and Leni offered me the part on one condition – that I would rap in the actual play! The script was heavily reworked for the modern day setting however, and the scene featuring the deer hunt was removed completely (the “shoot” turned into a photoshoot involving the girl band instead), so Holofernes’ rap instead came when he was reading some poetry written by Berowne intended for Rosaline (read aloud by Nathaniel in the original, but the lines were given to Holofernes for our version). The rapping was then reprised for the finale as the Worthies perform for the royals.
Immediately I was nervous that the rapping would cause confusion in the story. The moment when Holofernes reads aloud Berowne’s letter is fairly pivotal – it is the moment when Costard realises that Berowne has broken his oath (Berowne has supposedly sworn off women for a year, but now he has been found writing love letters to Rosaline). Thankfully, the bulk of the letter is long-winded, romantic nonsense, and the culmination of the letter, where the characters realise its author, comes a few lines later, once the rap has finished. This meant that we could have fun with the rap, before getting into the meat of the plot.
Martin as Nathaniel would provide some beatboxing, and with the help of James, we worked on the rhythm, to make sure the rap wasn’t too fast but also didn’t drag on for too long. We added some extra flourishes, including Martin’s “boom” when Holofernes mentions ‘thunder’, and then Ed as Costard and Iona as Jaquenetta added to the comedy with some dance moves. I was happy with the result, but as with any comedic moments, during rehearsals they can start to feel stale and doubt can come creeping back in. This is because the rest of the cast and crew get used to seeing the scene performed, so it loses its impact and doesn’t draw as many laughs. The scenes immediately feel different in front of an audience who haven’t watched before and have no idea what is coming.
As rehearsals went on, things stepped up a notch with the introduction of costume (a completely ridiculous get-up for myself, and I wouldn’t have it any other way) and music which accompanied scene transitions. This addition made the show feel much more polished, with duo Cheeky Felicia offering comedic takes on pop songs, whilst Ellie Galvin brought a touch of class with some excellent vocals. As in any Shakespeare play, there are lots of scenes, and although we didn’t have any set changes, the musical interludes helped to cover time whilst actors entered and exited the stage. With the performance in the courtyard at Elvaston Castle, there was a lot of space to cover to get everyone on the stage!
The set up at Elvaston Castle made for a very strange atmosphere backstage, with half the cast entering from one side of the courtyard, and the other half from the other, with two separate dressing rooms either side. This meant that the cast were essentially split in two, and some actors that never shared the stage together wouldn’t see each other until the final bows. My least favourite aspect of this production was the fact that my entrance didn’t occur until almost 45 minutes into the play, which meant that my nerves continued to build whilst everyone else got over the initial anxiety of stepping onto the stage for the first time. It didn’t help that my first scene included the infamous rap, which I was also fairly nervous about performing in case I forgot the words. If your mind goes blank during a monologue, it is easier to either ad-lib your way through it, or take a brief pause to reset, and often the audience don’t notice. With a rap, where each line rhymes and has to be said in a fast-paced rhythm, it is more difficult to get away with any slip ups. Thankfully, I was panicking about nothing, because each performance went smoothly, and I got treated to a nice round of applause once the rap was complete!
After the fun of last year’s “Romeo and Juliet” and “Macbeth”, I knew that this would be riot, and it more than lived up to expectations. There was a bit of backstage drama (a duck invaded the stage, Sam had to see off some local youths, and an incident with a pair of gloves and a stick of butter will never be forgotten), which made the show week a laugh from start to finish. What I admire most about Derby Shakespeare is how everyone gets stuck in, helping with costume and sets and all the little bits that go on behind the scenes. The day after the last show, the set strike was one of the busiest strikes I’d ever attended, lots of people turning up to lend a hand as the stage was dismantled and transported back to Shakespeare House.
I’m now taking a short break from Derby Shakespeare Theatre Company, but look forward to seeing their productions of John Godber’s “Men of the World” in March, and particularly excited to see “Julius Caesar”, which will be playing in Derby in July before going on to the Minack Theatre in Cornwall in August. Also, apparently it’s being beamed into space…? There are lots of exciting things ahead for this group!
Tom Morley, December 2025
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