Reviews

The story is based off one of Boccaccio’s stories in The Decameron. In it, Helena saves the life of the king and then gets to marry whomever she chooses. The man she wants says “gross” and runs away to Florence. She follows him and slips into his bedroom one night when he expecting to sleep with another woman. She gets pregnant and he has to marry her. All’s well that ends well, but maybe in the future he’ll leave a light on.

livrad's review against another edition

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3.0

I appreciated the witty banter in this play, though the character development read as if there were sections lost to history (which there very well could be). While modern readers/audiences may feel uncomfortable around the moral quandary of consent when Helena tricks Bertram into sleeping with her (things written 400+ years ago probably don’t need spoiler alerts), I’m sure period audiences found this bawdy trickery uproariously funny. What threw this one off for me was how stunted the ending was. It was like the play just stopped, and Shakespeare decided to pop on a wedding just to fit within the format of comedy. Bertram has to make such an abrupt emotional shift in this last scene, that the moment must truly deserve to be seen on stage, just to see how the actor approaches it to make it in anyway believable.

madusr's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

ebunk's review against another edition

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challenging lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

emiann2023's review against another edition

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4.0

Shirt and romantic, but I don't like Bertrand.

delicious's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

ruthlessly's review against another edition

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4.0

Helena is the best and a character not content to remain constrained within her narrative, HOW EXCELLENT IS THAT. Honestly, what elevates the play ngl.

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