Shakespeare's Globe has transformed into a Spanish fiesta as director Indiana Lown-Collins brings flamenco fire to Love's Labour's Lost. The production, running from 17 July to 13 September, fuses Shakespeare's wordy comedy with the passionate rhythms of flamenco, creating a visceral theatrical experience.
A Perfect Match for Passion and Death
Lown-Collins, who is half-Spanish and grew up immersed in flamenco, says the art form is an ideal fit for the play. 'A lot of this play is about passion, love, sex, and death – and flamenco does sex and death really well,' she explains. The director fell in love with the Globe's acoustics while working as resident associate director and immediately knew flamenco would sound incredible on its oak stage.
The play follows a Spanish king and his lords who swear off women, only to fall for a visiting princess and her ladies. Lown-Collins highlights the strong female characters: 'The matriarchy is the heart and soul of flamenco. We wanted to show the power of these women coming into a court that's not theirs, to take it by storm.' In rehearsal, the women descend staircases and surround the men like sirens.
Flamenco Bootcamp and Transformation
Only two professional flamenco dancers, Pablo Egea and Anita La Maltesa, are in the cast. The rest undergo a daily three-hour bootcamp choreographed by Carmen Igarza. Actor Bea Segura likens the experience to Strictly Come Dancing, joking, 'From here to Sadler's Wells, you never know!' The heeled boots have transformed the actors, giving them posture and power. Lown-Collins notes one actor initially asked for flat shoes but now insists, 'Don't take my heels away!'
The director contrasts British and Spanish attitudes toward physicality: 'Thinking about my British culture, I don't think we celebrate our physical humanity in the same way. We're very apologetic. In Spain it's different: 'Look at me and my new skirt, how tight it is, showing off my gluteus maximus!''
Rhythm and Language Intertwined
The complex rhythms of flamenco mirror the play's dense language. Lown-Collins observes, 'This play has the most couplets of any Shakespeare I've ever done.' One actor experimented with fitting lines to flamenco rhythm instead of Shakespeare's meter and found it worked. The music is composed by flamenco guitarists Michael McMahon and Adrián Solá, with singer Carlos Lobo Cordón.
Describing Love's Labour's Lost as 'the feast of languages,' Lown-Collins says the wordiness inspired her to add flamenco: 'What if you put something that is extremely visceral and physical alongside it?' The aim is to bring everyone out of their heads and into their bodies, including the audience, who will have a chance to dance during the jig at the end. 'I'm just hoping that by the jig people will want to dance,' she grins.
