INTERVIEW: Luke Thompson (of Bridgerton fame) and newcomer Melanie-Joyce Bermudez on why their Love’s Labour’s Lost at the RSC is a must-see.

‘Our production is… sexy, interesting, moving and funny’

So say actors Luke Thompson and Melanie-Joyce Bermudez, who play Berowne and the Princess, in Love’s Labour’s Lost which opens at the RSC tonight, and runs to 18th May. They spoke to Gill Sutherland about what to expect from this modern take on Shakespeare’s unusual rom-com.So Luke, you’ve actually been to Stratford before…

Luke: Yes, I was born in the UK but brought up in France and I was 18 and when I came back. So my first experience really of the UK was spending doing the Year Out Drama course in Stratford. It was an amazing company of 35 actors where you get to explore and experiment. That was about 17 years ago. It was a wonderful and formative time.

What do you recall from that time, did you go to shows at the RSC?

Luke: Yes, I mean, did I?! It was Michael Boyd and the Histories cycle. It was part of the process of seeing plays that shape you, they were amazing, like blockbusters. I remember all the Henrys with that company of actors. Some of the actors I’ve subsequently worked with – including John Mackay who I first saw here in King Lear. Then I ended up doing Lear with McKellen… So Stratford was so influential.

How was it to walk through the portals of the RSC?