“Some of my favourite moments came from Juan Chioran as the Quixote-type Spaniard, Don Adriano de Armado-particularly when he was sharing scenes with the absolutely fantastic, young Gabriel Long as Moth… Mr. Long is up for the challenge of what is an extremely demanding role for a young actor-but he does it all, and seemingly with ease.”

“The new Stratford production of Love’s Labour’s Lost begins, brilliantly, with Mike Shara arriving late…It’s a vindication of the Festival stage as an unrivalled launching-pad for language, and of the actor who, after innumerable and usually very funny successes in supporting roles, finally has a governing role and triumphs in it.”

“Mike Shara takes another step forward as one of the festival’s most irresistible leading men as Berowne…Whether he’s raising a sceptical eyebrow, talking directly to the audience or revealing true feeling in a speech about the fairer sex, the charmingly charismatic Shara has theatregoers eating out of his hand.”

“While the performances provide the meat of this production, the elegant columns and shaded greenery of the set and impeccably corresponding costumes — all courtesy of designer Patrick Clark -provide the seasoning. The result is a celebration -of language, of love and, ultimately, of maturity — that captivates in its delightful excess.”

“…John Caird has done his utmost to clarify the text. Of the three Love’s Labour’s Lost produced at Stratford in the past fifteen years, it is by far the clearest…Mr. Shara plumbs emotional depths not necessarily associated with the rakish Berowne…”

“Mike Shara firmly steps into the front ranks of Stratford leading men with his Berowne, a character so ingratiatingly brash, yet touching vulnerable, that you have to love him.”