Beatrice and Benedick exchange barbs and spurn the idea of ever marrying anybody, but when each is tricked into thinking they are loved by the other, they soon declare their mutual devotion. It’s a romcom plot that never grows old, so Much Ado About Nothing lends itself to different settings. Australian Shakespeare Company’s choice of a 1980s-90s milieu of rival rock bands works a treat (somewhat to my surprise) in no small part due to numerous catchy original songs.

Much Ado About Nothing, Australian Shakespeare Company, 2023. Photo © Ben Fon

Directed by Glenn Elston, who is this outdoor-theatre company’s founding Artistic Director, the play opens with a song by girl band The Babes of Disdain, which includes Beatrice and her cousin Hero. Then in sweeps Benedick and the Love Gods, fresh from a successful tour. This boy band managed by Don Pedro includes Claudio, who falls for Hero, while Much Ado’s duo of fools, Dogberry and Verges, are roadies.

The accessible modern setting is never laboured over once it’s been neatly established, and the cast breaking into song feels natural throughout. The songs tell or enhance the...