Critically acclaimed theatre company Guildford Shakespeare Company (GSC) celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
The centrepiece of this celebration is bringing together two of Shakespeare’s most delightful romantic comedies, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing, in co-production with Orange Tree Theatre (OT).
Following its run in Guildford, the productions will head to the gardens of Thomas’s College, for OT on the Hill, from 31st July to 22nd August. A distinct open-air theatrical event, the productions are presented as a unique, interconnected experience, with the shows spanning several years and exploring the enduring complexities of love.
The compelling approach picks up on the long-debated idea that Much Ado About Nothing may, in fact, be the elusive Love’s Labour’s Won, a possible sequel to Love’s Labour’s Lost which explores what might have happened next after one of comedy’s greatest cliffhangers. The two productions will run in repertory throughout July, giving audiences the chance to enjoy each play independently or experience both in a single day. While each story can easily stand alone, together they offer a beautifully satisfying love saga.
We caught up with GSC’s co-founders, actor-managers Sarah Gobran (Leonata, Princess of France) and Matt Pinches (John Longaville/Dull Dogberry) to learn more.
As co-founders, how does it feel to mark GSC’s 20th year with such an ambitious interconnected experience? Did you ever imagine this level of scale back in 2006?
Matt: We are so thrilled to be staging this ambitious combination for our 20th Summer. Much Ado was the play that we started with in 2006, so we always knew that we wanted to return to it this year. We haven’t staged it for a decade, so it’s a real treat to be returning to it. Tom Littler directed that show, and later directed Love’s Labour’s Lost in 2018, so when we were looking at a possible ‘tent-pole’ event for our anniversary year this was a really exciting proposition. The possibility that Much Ado was originally written by Shakespeare as ‘Love’s Labour’s Won’, as a proto-sequel to ‘Lost’ it added another tantalising layer.
Naturally, we’ve been doing a lot of reminiscing already this year, and certainly neither of us ever conceived the journey we, GSC and our audiences have been over the last two decade. The scale of the shows have grown and grown – literally the day before we start rehearsals for this summer, we’ll be opening a show in New York!
Sarah: It’s beyond my wildest dreams. The kernels of GSC came whilst auditioning for other open-air theatre companies around the country. It struck me as a shame that Guildford didn’t have a professional open-air season each summer and then once the idea was in my head I couldn’t get rid of it. The first summer happened because I knew I would be furious if someone got there first! And here we are 70 main-house shows and some 200,000 audience members later, with an education and outreach department that creates 29,000 participation opportunities a year. It feels almost unbelievable.
I love both of these shows and have so many happy memories on working on them both with Tom in 2016 and 2018. I really can’t wait to revisit them… although being “aged up” into the next character is somewhat confronting.
You are both performing in two plays that span six years of "in-universe" time (1939 to 1945). How are you physically and mentally preparing to play the evolution of these characters across the two shows?
Matt: With our actors’ hats, this is a real gift. Tom has done a fabulous job in deftly massaging characters’ stories so that audiences should feel a sense of continuity. For me playing John Longaville (Don John in MAAN, Longaville in LLL), I’m really looking forward to exploring what makes Don John the villain of the second play – he will journey from being a care-free beau to one out for revenge against his former friends. Shakespeare only hints at the reasons behind Don John’s melancholy, but here we’re able to fully explore it. Similarly with Constable Dull Dogberry, going from country constable to hapless captain of the Watch, where does his sudden confidence come from?!
Sarah: Oh yes, there’s so much to explore. In Love’s Labour’s Lost, the earlier play, it is not just our characters that are younger but also Shakespeare and his writing. It’s light and witty, poetic, rhyming and youthful, showing off his skill, and so are his characters. I love the vivacity of the Princess of France. By the time we get to Much Ado About Nothing his writing has matured. Much Ado is written more in prose, which, though still a physical comedy, takes away some of that lightness. The characters are a little more conservative and a little less playful than those the LLL, they have been through war. On top of this I am playing Leonato – written as an older man (white beard and all!!) so I have the additional challenge of creating a character that is faithful to the writing of the original, if not the physical embodiment, but also can sit well within the believability of being played by a woman and matching it up with the character of the Princess. I am excited. We have had a female Leonata before, and I think it brings something special to the relationships between her, Hero and Beatrice – the women left behind in war.
In Love’s Labour’s Lost, the characters are playful and naive. In Much Ado, they are "older and wiser." As actors who have grown with this company for 20 years, how much of your own journey as founders is reflected in this story of maturing over time?
Matt: I’m writing this pre-rehearsals starting, so it’s hard to be specific at the moment; but over 20 years I have played a number of characters multiple times (Touchstone, Bottom, Lance), and because of the depth and delicacy of Shakespeare’s handling of the human psyche, you are forever finding new things, coming to these wonderful characters at different times their lives. What I can imagine for these characters, is that this ‘maturity’ will come to bear as we consider how they have handled the traumas and challenges of a world war.
Sarah: It’s an interesting question. I am not entirely sure that I have ever really matured… I think I am probably as naughty as I have ever been, and I hope to be able to bring out some of that mischief in Leonata… perhaps rekindled through the Princess (if that doesn’t happen, that means it was a dreadful idea and got canned in rehearsals). I think one thing that does come over the years, is confidence. At the end of LLL, the Princess goes on an emotional journey, and has to prepare to become Queen, I can only imagine the changes that this would bring about would be a maturing experience – perhaps lending aspects of wisdom and confidence that can only come with experience.
This is a major co-production with the Orange Tree Theatre. How has the collaboration influenced the Guildford style of open-air theatre that your audiences have come to love?
Matt: I would say that our styles align quite closely already. Working with Tom Littler, OT’s Artistic Director, who directed these two plays originally means that we already have a great stage language to be working with. For GSC it’s a fabulous opportunity to extend the life of these shows by going to Richmond, whilst at the same giving OT’s audiences their first taste of open-air Shakespeare, something OT have not done before.
As co-founders, how do you balance the business of a 20th-anniversary season with the creative demand of playing major roles in two different plays simultaneously?
Matt: It’s certainly a busy one! Firstly, we have a brilliant team at GSC HQ who are instrumental in everything we do. Secondly, communication is absolutely key, along with careful and compassionate planning. There’s always going to be surprises, but if you’ve done your best to prep then you’re in a good place. Thirdly, Sarah and have been working together for 20 years as actor-managers so we have a unique partnership that means we also are aware of each other’s workloads and demands. Finally, it’s also about pacing yourself – carving out time for your characters, for the office and just as importantly for yourself!
Sarah: By good fortune, I am a workaholic and I find I have the most energy when I am in rehearsals. Generally during a rehearsal period, I will catch up with emails in the morning, have meetings with the education teams during my lunch break, and then catch up with admin, emails and planning for the next seasons of an evening. Line learning often takes place on my walk to work, and I have frequently been told by audience members that they have seen me walking along gesticulating and “talking to myself”! As Matt says we have a brilliant team behind us – in the office as well as the freelance teams that make up the shows, and the countless number of people that teach our classes and run our workshops.
Matt, you’re playing both Longaville and Dogberry. One is a scholarly noble and the other a "Dull" (yet iconic) constable. How do you find the distinct physical comedy for each within the same 1940s aesthetic?
Naturally, we’ve been doing a lot of reminiscing already this year, and certainly neither of us ever conceived the journey we, GSC and our audiences have been over the last two decade. The scale of the shows have grown and grown – literally the day before we start rehearsals for this summer, we’ll be opening a show in New York!
Sarah: It’s beyond my wildest dreams. The kernels of GSC came whilst auditioning for other open-air theatre companies around the country. It struck me as a shame that Guildford didn’t have a professional open-air season each summer and then once the idea was in my head I couldn’t get rid of it. The first summer happened because I knew I would be furious if someone got there first! And here we are 70 main-house shows and some 200,000 audience members later, with an education and outreach department that creates 29,000 participation opportunities a year. It feels almost unbelievable.
I love both of these shows and have so many happy memories on working on them both with Tom in 2016 and 2018. I really can’t wait to revisit them… although being “aged up” into the next character is somewhat confronting.
You are both performing in two plays that span six years of "in-universe" time (1939 to 1945). How are you physically and mentally preparing to play the evolution of these characters across the two shows?
Matt: With our actors’ hats, this is a real gift. Tom has done a fabulous job in deftly massaging characters’ stories so that audiences should feel a sense of continuity. For me playing John Longaville (Don John in MAAN, Longaville in LLL), I’m really looking forward to exploring what makes Don John the villain of the second play – he will journey from being a care-free beau to one out for revenge against his former friends. Shakespeare only hints at the reasons behind Don John’s melancholy, but here we’re able to fully explore it. Similarly with Constable Dull Dogberry, going from country constable to hapless captain of the Watch, where does his sudden confidence come from?!
Sarah: Oh yes, there’s so much to explore. In Love’s Labour’s Lost, the earlier play, it is not just our characters that are younger but also Shakespeare and his writing. It’s light and witty, poetic, rhyming and youthful, showing off his skill, and so are his characters. I love the vivacity of the Princess of France. By the time we get to Much Ado About Nothing his writing has matured. Much Ado is written more in prose, which, though still a physical comedy, takes away some of that lightness. The characters are a little more conservative and a little less playful than those the LLL, they have been through war. On top of this I am playing Leonato – written as an older man (white beard and all!!) so I have the additional challenge of creating a character that is faithful to the writing of the original, if not the physical embodiment, but also can sit well within the believability of being played by a woman and matching it up with the character of the Princess. I am excited. We have had a female Leonata before, and I think it brings something special to the relationships between her, Hero and Beatrice – the women left behind in war.
In Love’s Labour’s Lost, the characters are playful and naive. In Much Ado, they are "older and wiser." As actors who have grown with this company for 20 years, how much of your own journey as founders is reflected in this story of maturing over time?
Matt: I’m writing this pre-rehearsals starting, so it’s hard to be specific at the moment; but over 20 years I have played a number of characters multiple times (Touchstone, Bottom, Lance), and because of the depth and delicacy of Shakespeare’s handling of the human psyche, you are forever finding new things, coming to these wonderful characters at different times their lives. What I can imagine for these characters, is that this ‘maturity’ will come to bear as we consider how they have handled the traumas and challenges of a world war.
Sarah: It’s an interesting question. I am not entirely sure that I have ever really matured… I think I am probably as naughty as I have ever been, and I hope to be able to bring out some of that mischief in Leonata… perhaps rekindled through the Princess (if that doesn’t happen, that means it was a dreadful idea and got canned in rehearsals). I think one thing that does come over the years, is confidence. At the end of LLL, the Princess goes on an emotional journey, and has to prepare to become Queen, I can only imagine the changes that this would bring about would be a maturing experience – perhaps lending aspects of wisdom and confidence that can only come with experience.
This is a major co-production with the Orange Tree Theatre. How has the collaboration influenced the Guildford style of open-air theatre that your audiences have come to love?
Matt: I would say that our styles align quite closely already. Working with Tom Littler, OT’s Artistic Director, who directed these two plays originally means that we already have a great stage language to be working with. For GSC it’s a fabulous opportunity to extend the life of these shows by going to Richmond, whilst at the same giving OT’s audiences their first taste of open-air Shakespeare, something OT have not done before.
As co-founders, how do you balance the business of a 20th-anniversary season with the creative demand of playing major roles in two different plays simultaneously?
Matt: It’s certainly a busy one! Firstly, we have a brilliant team at GSC HQ who are instrumental in everything we do. Secondly, communication is absolutely key, along with careful and compassionate planning. There’s always going to be surprises, but if you’ve done your best to prep then you’re in a good place. Thirdly, Sarah and have been working together for 20 years as actor-managers so we have a unique partnership that means we also are aware of each other’s workloads and demands. Finally, it’s also about pacing yourself – carving out time for your characters, for the office and just as importantly for yourself!
Sarah: By good fortune, I am a workaholic and I find I have the most energy when I am in rehearsals. Generally during a rehearsal period, I will catch up with emails in the morning, have meetings with the education teams during my lunch break, and then catch up with admin, emails and planning for the next seasons of an evening. Line learning often takes place on my walk to work, and I have frequently been told by audience members that they have seen me walking along gesticulating and “talking to myself”! As Matt says we have a brilliant team behind us – in the office as well as the freelance teams that make up the shows, and the countless number of people that teach our classes and run our workshops.
Matt, you’re playing both Longaville and Dogberry. One is a scholarly noble and the other a "Dull" (yet iconic) constable. How do you find the distinct physical comedy for each within the same 1940s aesthetic?
Matt: As I have mentioned before, Tom has done a brilliant moulding of these characters so firstly I have to navigate Longaville’s journey into the melancholic ‘villian’ of Much Ado; whilst also charting Dull’s ‘rise to power’ as Much Ado’s Dogberry. It always begins with the text – that’s what Shakespeare gave his original actors, so that’s where I start looking or clues. Longaville is talked about as being a ‘merry mocking lord… glorious in arms’ that can often speak before he thinks, so that, combined with his name, I’m thinking he’s quite a swift, nimble fellow who clearly holds himself well. Dull on the other hand is a salt of the earth chap, who speaks little, repeats himself, but is true to his own convictions. Given the ‘sleepy’ vibe of the village setting, I’m seeing Dull with a pipe, most happy with a pint in his hand; physically slower, more precise, but as the constable, he enjoys and respects the station he holds. I envisage one like homemade lemonade, the other a messy cream tea!
Sarah, playing Leonata (traditionally Leonato) adds a fascinating matriarchal layer to Much Ado. How does this shift the dynamic of the love saga when viewed alongside Love’s Labour’s Lost?
Sarah: I have touched on this briefly above and there is still so much to explore. I think the biggest shift for me will be going from light-hearted, flirtatious, effervescent Princess to a part that is traditionally played by an older man. The trickiest scene for me, at the moment, is imagining how I will get to the place where she denounces Hero at the wedding. The shift is big for any actor but considering the match with LLL, it’ll be quite interesting to explore. This is where rehearsals can create magic – Tom is so clever, always with humanity at the heart of what he does. This combined with how relationships grow with the other actors and their visions for their characters – that’s how we make the moments work, make the difficult believable and create a world for the play that is relatable, humane, witty and emotionally impactful… or at least I hope!
Love’s Labour’s Lost & Much Ado About Nothing runs from
1st July - 25th July 2026 at Braboeuf Manor, Portsmouth Road, Guildford GU3 1HA
31st July – 22nd August 2026 Thomas’s College, Queen's Rd, Richmond TW10 6JW
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