This summer, Shakespeare in the Squares celebrates a massive milestone—ten years of bringing vibrant, open-air theatre to London’s most beautiful hidden green spaces. To mark their tenth anniversary, the beloved not-for-profit company is touring Love’s Labour’s Lost, Shakespeare’s sparkling comedy of wit, flirtation, and foolishness. At the helm of this celebratory production is director Toby Gordon, who is tasked with bringing the company's hallmarks of clarity, energy, and pure joy to life.
We sat down with Toby to find out how he’s tailoring this classic tale for the sunshine, the squares, and the local communities that make it all happen.
What can you tell me about this production of Love's Labour's Lost and your vision behind it?
For me, this production is part of a continuing mission to seek a more balanced representation of gender and relationships in our interpretation of Shakespeare’s plays. The text has been reimagined to be staged with a company of 8 actor-musicians and the interwoven musical selections - popular songs from the 1960s and early 1970s - offer clear and familiar routes into the narrative and lend their influence to the visual stylings.
This production marks a massive milestone—the 10th anniversary of performing in the square. How does it feel to helm such a monumental season?
I’m very proud of my work with Shakespeare In The Squares - both as an actor onstage and as Director behind the scenes. I first worked for the company in 2023 and am equal parts astonished and delighted by how the company and our reputation across the capital has grown.
Why Love’s Labour’s Lost for the 10th anniversary? What about this specific Shakespearean comedy felt like the right fit for a celebration?
For the past decade, Shakespeare In The Squares has remained committed to staging a different Shakespeare play for our audiences in parks and gardens across London each Summer. It felt important to consolidate this commitment as we mark a decade bringing lively theatre to the capital and to demonstrably continue reaching deeper into Shakespeare’s canon. Love’s Labour’s Lost stood out as an underrepresented play with vibrant characters and great comic potential.
How do you reflect on last year's directorial debut of The Taming of the Shrew and how have you brought what you learned to this year's production?
Last year’s production taught me much about how to embrace the challenges of presenting a lesser-staged Shakespeare comedy to an audience in the 2020s. Through all phases of production (Including but not limited to editing, musical selections, casting and rehearsal) I seek opportunities to engage our audience directly and tell them a story that feels clear and relatable.
How does the social, open-air, picnicking atmosphere of the square influence your directorial approach and the energy of the actors?
The performance environment is everything when it comes to outdoor theatre. The audiences are our top priority and any opportunity to engage with them should not be overlooked.
Performing outdoors in a open air squares brings unique rewards and challenges (from changing light to ambient city sounds). How are you utilising the natural geography and architecture of these settings in your staging?
We are so lucky to get to perform in a selection of beautiful squares, parks and gardens across London. The setting of our play - a park outside the court of Navarre in Western Europe - fits perfectly into these environs and allows us to impose minimal set dressing and allow the world of the play to grow among the natural landscape.
The play is famously described as a "sparkling comedy of flirtation, foolishness, and the irresistible pull of love." How are you balancing the high-brow, witty wordplay of the Lords and Ladies with the laugh-out-loud, physical comedy of characters like Costard and Don Armado?
Whilst Love’s Labour’s Lost presents an assortment of intellectually lofty characters and more earthy or obviously comic characters, the factor that unites them all is that they are flawed. All the characters in this play behave in an impulsive and opportunistic way - often to their own detriment! This is Shakespeare’s way of presenting real and relatable people in comic circumstances.
At its core, the play is about a group of young people swearing off romance for academic study, only to immediately fail when temptation arrives. How do you think this struggle between duty and desire translates to a modern audience?
The key obstacle to the progression of romance in Love’s Labour’s Lost is an oath sworn by the men of Navarre that forbids association with women. It’s important that we recognise the shortsighted masculine thought process behind this idea and make note of the parallels that remain plentiful in 2026.
Without giving too much away, Love’s Labour’s Lost has one of the most unconventional, bittersweet endings in Shakespeare's comedic catalogue. How have you approached the shift in tone from pure comedy to something deeper at the play's conclusion?
The ending of Love’s Labour’s Lost remains one of the most hotly debated features of the play and serves as a reminder that however predictable things might seem, sometimes life has other ideas. Its important that we don’t shy away from this reminder and that we let the writing do the work.
What has been the most surprising or delightful discovery in the rehearsal room with the cast so far?
The most delightful rehearsal moment has been the day our 8 talented actor-musicians first bring their musical instruments and form a musical ensemble. The sound transforms from cacophony to harmony in a matter of moments and the musical chemistry is a genuine joy to witness.
What was the first piece of theatre that you remember having a big impact on you?
I saw the Globe take a touring production of Romeo & Juliet to Alnwick Castle in Northumberland in 2006 and was transfixed by the opportunities offered by staging Shakespeare in the outdoors. Their only set was a customised VW camper van used so artfully in many different ways - Juliet emerged from the sunroof for the famous balcony scene!
What gives you motivation?
I’m motivated by the immediacy of theatre and the direct relationships between performers and audience. In an increasingly remote world, these moments of authentic human connection become rarer and more valuable.
What do you hope an audience member takes away from seeing Love’s Labour’s Lost?
I’d like our audiences to leave feeling more familiar with this underrated and lesser-staged Shakespeare work. My predecessor, the wonderful Sioned Jones, gave the name “ShakesFear” to the feelings of alienation sometimes experienced by contemporary audiences presented with Shakespeare. Our core ambition is to allay this fear and make it clear that these are plays for the people!
Love's Labour's Lost tours venues opening at Leinster Square on 3rd June and running until 12th July. For full tour dates and venues visit https://shakespeareinthesquares.co.uk/
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| The 2025 production of The Taming of the Shrew. Photo by Steve Gregson. |
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