Renowned touring company Cheek by Jowl will arrive in the West End this summer with its current production of Much Ado About Nothing. The production, which has toured nationally and internationally, will open at the Playhouse Theatre on 3 June for a limited seven-week season.

It's a grand year for fans of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two acquaintances whose rivalry turns to love; three major productions will be staged in London within a few months of one another. The first, currently playing to 9 May, is the RSC production at the Barbican Theatre. The Cheek by Jowl production is followed in October by Peter Hall's version at the Piccadilly Theatre.

Cheek by Jowl's Much Ado features Saskia Reeves, Sarita Choudhury and Matthew Mcfadyen, directed by artistic director Declan Donnellan.

Donnellan and joint director Nick Ormerod announced plans last year to disband the company at the completion of the current Much Ado tour. They have said that it will only be a sabbatical and that the company will return. The acclaimed duo has been internationally lauded and awarded; Cheek by Jowl has received more Olivier Awards than any other touring group.

--By Terri Paddock
What's On Stage, London