Boaty Theatre Company - Much Ado About Nothing

It’s Much Ado About Nothing with something urgent to say—and no intention of asking permission.

Featuring a cast of emerging LGBTQ+ and Northern talent, this timely production from Ellesmere Port's Boaty Theatre Company reclaims space, voice, and identity in an era that tried to silence both — and which, in the political climate of 2025, feels more relevant than ever before.

Set in the North West of England during the turbulent final years of Thatcher’s Britain, this bold reimagining channels Shakespeare’s razor sharp wit into a landscape of industrial decline, civil unrest, and rising resistance to Conservative-led assaults on education, civil rights, and marginalised communities, most notably the imposition of Section 28 of the Local Government Act (1988).

Returning from the Falklands, Captain Don Pedro and her trusted corps— Lieutenant Benedick and Private Claudio—find themselves not celebrated, but condemned. Under Section 69 of the Army Act (1955), they are dishonourably discharged for so-called conduct “unbecoming”, along with counterparts in Don John’s unit.

Fusing Shakespearean verse with a fiercely Northern spirit, this production is laced with post-punk grit, New Romantic flair, and eyeliner for days!