Shakespeare comes back to life in Soho with 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona'

Alfredo Noval must have been on the verge of a nervous breakdown when he received the second call from the great Declan Donnellan. The actor had already worked under the direction of the British director with the adaptation of Calderón de la Barca's 'Life is a Dream'. However, the new request demanded that he embody one of the two noble youths from Shakespeare's debut opera. 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona' travel to the Soho Theater tomorrow Friday and Saturday with one of the few adaptations that exist. "It is the great unknown work of Shakespeare, if I were not in the cast, I would go see it," Noval replies on the other end of the phone.

The Bard's story unveils a tangle of friendship and love at the end of the Renaissance. Inspired by the pastoral worlds of Jorge de Montemayor, it narrates the "Almodovarian" vicissitudes of Valentín –played by Manuel Moya– and Noval himself as Proteo. It is considered the light title of the Englishman, reason enough to "reclaim it," according to the actor, who maintains: "It lays the foundations of Shakespearean literature and directors focus there." The importance of this work would explain subsequent nods to cross-dressed women and love exiles in other titles like 'Romeo and Juliet' or 'As You Like It'.

Proteo's performance promises to ask the audience for help. The "lack of tools" in his journey will cause endless misfortunes on his trip to Milan. He will seek out Valentín, a faithful friend, despite having betrayed him, and the entanglement will occupy their respective partners: Julia and Silvia. "[Declan] Donnellan says they are two preppy kids raised in a patriarchal environment and don't know what to do," Noval states. The adaptation welcomes the presence of a world of men about the education of their fathers, a leitmotif in Shakespearean scripts.

The "Almodovarian" vicissitudes meet in Soho in this tangle of love and friendship at the end of the Renaissance

The "snowball" that Proteo experiences in the play resembles the "eternal adolescence" of many other men. Precisely, the actor holds that the audience can identify and question themselves. "Do people still lack tools?" the actor questions. What Noval is clear about is that his decisions would not go through those of his character. Raised in the 90s, the man from Valladolid belongs to other "environments" than those of the "enraged" boy that Shakespeare wrote at an unspecified date of the 16th century. However, he is interested in not judging any character to prompt questions about this.

An "infantile" rivalry

The strong "attachment" between Valentín and Proteo guides the construction of both characters, Noval points out. Valentín's escape, wounded by his companion's courtship, and the arrival of Proteo, unable to let his friend fall in love, trigger an "almost childish" rivalry that leads to betrayal. The actor wonders whether today people fail more out of love or ambition. And although he suspects the latter, he prefers to think that there is some romanticism left in the decisions that literature has exploited for many years.

The adaptation is directed by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, the two great names familiar with the playwright. Or in other words: Cheek by Kowl. The English company takes the classic text and merges it with the modern idiosyncrasies about the human being. Precisely, Donnellan's latest ideas turn on the question of this about the need not to be alive for others. "It seems that what matters is raising our hand to be seen," Noval states about the new realities that abound.

So out of his mind is Proteo's faithful friend, Valentín, to condemn about his love for Silvia. "To die is to be exiled from myself," the character says. The phrase follows other stellar ones like that of the Duke of Milan –played by Jorge Basanta– when he says: "Love is like a child who craves everything he sees." Despite the antagonism for his relationship with the lady, Shakespeare urges all characters and grants various "clues" about them, as revealed by the 2023 Actors Union Award.

The Soho Theater receives the co-production along with the National Classical Theater Company (CNTC) and LaZona. "It's a joy the team because it allows working the craft from the rehearsal room," Noval maintains. Shakespeare's almost 'silly' comedy ceases to be so when the dramatic nuance that squeezes each and every one of his characters is observed. "When the drama sounds familiar, that's where the comedy happens," he says about the entanglements of the play and those of life.

The humanism that Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod venerate meets on the Malaga boards. Recently awarded the Madrid is Theater prize for best leading actor for the second consecutive year, he trusts that the audience will uncover the great hidden gem of the classical repertoire. They closed the 2025 season with critical and public success at the Teatro de la Comedia in Madrid and are now touring Spain. Looking forward to the date in Malaga, the actor predicts a "discovery." That of a "seldom frequented" Shakespeare, but recognizable, light in appearance and deep in the conflicts that the Soho revives.