Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell played Benedick and Beatrice in Jamie Lloyd's staging of Shakespeare's comedy at Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell starred in Jamie Lloyd’s Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in Covent Garden from Monday 10 February to Saturday 5 April 2025. Hiddleston played Benedick and Atwell played Beatrice.
Shakespeare is thought to have written the comedy in 1598 and 1599. It was printed in quarto in 1600 and again in the First Folio of 1623.
Set in Messina, it pairs two couples. The slander of Don John nearly wrecks the match of the young Claudio and Hero. Benedick and Beatrice, long at a merry war of wit, are each tricked by their friends into believing the other is in love.
The title puns on noting, which to Elizabethan ears sounded like nothing and meant gossip, rumour and overhearing.
Lloyd produced and directed, with Soutra Gilmour designing set and costumes, and both leads had worked with him before. Hiddleston’s theatre credits include Coriolanus and Hamlet, and he was Tony-nominated for Betrayal. Atwell’s include Measure for Measure and A View from the Bridge.
Mara Huf played Hero, Tim Steed played Don John and Gerald Kyd played Don Pedro, with Forbes Masson as Leonato.