Set in a ski chalet in the European Alps, director Jess Kaijaks hopes to infuse the playful vibrancy of the 1970s into the exuberant Shakespearean comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost at Pleasance Theatre. I was excited to sit down with her to discuss the EUSC’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic romance.
Kaijaks begins by expressing her excitement about choosing the play Love’s Labour’s Lost, describing the comedy as a total “hidden gem.” She describes how it was a really underperformed play, which she thinks is a “real shame.” I must admit that before the opportunity of this interview arose, I was also somewhat ignorant of the plot myself. Kaijaks explains that the production follows the basic premise that four nobles, who have sworn off love for three years, have their plan totally derailed when “suddenly four gorgeous women rock up,” causing this plan to comically “crumble apart immediately.”
However, in this production, we are not in the Spanish Kingdom of Navarre, but instead we are placed at the beginning of the ski season in the Alps, where romantic tension hits a boiling point. “It is a very silly play,” Kaijaks continues, with an abundance of “classic Shakespearean antics such as missing letters and fancy-dress masquerade balls.” In her view, adapting comedy is a much more challenging task than tragedy: “You never really know how an audience is going to react.” However, alongside an “incredibly talented group of actors who have had so much fun playing around with it,” she has crafted a farce of physical humour, clowning, and dance which she hopes will set off any Halloween-themed night to a fantastic start.
Kaijak’s first interaction with the play was watching Emily Burns’ production at the RSC in 2024. Set on a tropical island, it is a production that The Guardian described as amping “up the silliness” on all accounts. Through the bright costumes and infusion of 70s music in Kaijak’s production, it is clear that Burns’ adaptation is a key influence. Modernising the text in a similar vein allowed for maximum experimentation, which Kaijaks argues is so important to student theatre. This desire for challenging traditional notions of Shakespearean theatre is what led her to a gender-blind casting. She explains to me that she feels it is important that “actors can feel that they could portray any character,” and for the production to focus on the comic elements of the plot above all else.
The tech and production team have played a crucial role as well. Kaijaks explains that Act Four, Scene Three is “probably the most famous” which entails a farce of the nobles, hiding in various places around the stage, slowly confessing their love and betraying their promise of abstinence. “It has been a challenge,” says Kaijaks, but through workshopping in rehearsals she hopes the interactive set pieces will bring the comedy to life.
One part of the production she really loves and is looking forward to seeing on stage is the final scene. She describes it as a “behemoth of moving parts” where there are many “plays within plays” that will be immensely satisfying to all cast and crew.
Kaijaks emphasises how “lucky” she is to be working with such a talented cast who have “thrown themselves fully at the material.” She continues by expressing how collaborative the team is, particularly because she is working with actors who are directors themselves. For Kaijaks, this means she has loved the fact that the actors have presented their own ideas, which have expanded the possibilities of her own direction. She hopes the joy from the rehearsals will be witnessed by audience members who will hopefully find it “just as infectious as it has been these past weeks.”
Love’s Labour’s Lost runs for three nights, from 28 to 30 October at Pleasance Theatre. Buy tickets here.
Image by Ulia Makoveeva, provided to The Student as press material.
