No one is having a better time than Tom Hiddleston in Jamie Lloyd’s revival of Much Ado About Nothing

Dear Gossips,

I can’t pretend at all that I am a theatre nerd even though I’m surrounded by so many of them you’d think I would be by now. Once in a while, though, there is a production that hits me in all the right places, without having seen it. If I could be in New York right now, the show I would go to is Jamie Lloyd’s revival of Much Ado About Nothing that is now on Broadway after a record-breaking stretch on the West End, starring Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell as Benedick and Beatrice. The first week of previews has been a sell-out, and it’s looking good that the ten-week run will be quite lucrative.

On paper, I am predisposed to Much Ado. For starters, this is a classic “enemies to lovers” rom-com, so that’s one box checked. But also, Much Ado is about gossip – it’s right in the title, “Nothing” used to be “Noting” which meant observing, speculating, rumours. And the story is driven by gossip, by people starting rumours to matchmake our OTP and also a rumour that threatens to ruin the reputation of the woman (Hero) who is in the second couple. In Much Ado, Shakespeare gave us examples of good gossip and bad gossip, not unlike Jane Austen; there is a lot of connective tissue between Much Ado and Pride and Prejudice.

And, of course, this continues to be relevant today. Rom-coms, obviously, are always relevant… but the way Benedick and Beatrice’s entourage conspire to hook them up is not unlike how social media ships their faves. And the way Don John tries to come between Claudio and Hero has its counterpart today on social media too.

To go back to Broadway though – this Much Ado About Nothing is a 90s dance party. They’re doing Shakespeare in bright pink and metallic with a corresponding soundtrack that someone on Reddit hilariously described as an “Ibiza playlist”, LOL forever. This is a compliment! A Broadway show that feels like a night at the club except everyone has an assigned seat, nobody has to worry about getting roofied, and you can be in bed before midnight if you want to, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? How is this not a good time?

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Nobody, though, is having a better time than Tom Hiddleston on stage singing and dancing for his life for almost three hours eight times a week. He was made for this. And I appreciate him for it. Tom Hiddleston will never be the guy who is too cool to hit the dance floor (no one knows this better than Taylor Swift).I also appreciate his subway take on flip-flops. This is correct, no debate, the door is closed, all other opinions are wrong.