Perhaps the most pervasive view of Shakespeare's comedies is that they are hard to follow, too outdated to be funny, and therefore, dry. Well anyone with that view has clearly not seen a Madcap Theatre production of Shakespeare. At Friday night's showing of Much Ado About Nothing the audience at the Old Fire Station, aged 7 to 70, were falling off their chairs with laughter.

Make no mistake, this is not because they've doctored the lines or changed the setting: this is Shakespeare as Shakespeare intended. A joyously energetic performance full of rapid-fire wit and slapstick comedy.

The play takes place in Messina, Sicily, where the local governor Leonato is expecting an army returning from battle to pass by. He invites its leader, Don Pedro, prince of Aragon, to stay a while in Messina along with his companions. Among these are two young noblemen, Claudio and Benedick. The former takes a strong interest in Leonato's daughter, Hero.

Benedick is horrified when he learns that his friend has abandoned his machismo and decided to woo Hero, and is resolved on his part never to marry. His feisty female counterpart, equally disdainful towards romance, is Beatrice, Leonato's niece, who routinely exchanges quick-witted insults with Benedick.

After the courtship of Hero and Claudio is quickly resolved, with the help of Don Pedro, these then decide to trick Benedick and Beatrice into finding the same happiness.

What follows is the comical high point of the play's light-hearted first half, a pair of scenes in which Benedick and Beatrice respectively are made to overhear conversations between the conspirators to the effect that each of them is the object of the other's unrequited affections. Suddenly Benedick is shaken in his resolve, and Beatrice likewise sees Benedick in a new light.

But what really brought down the house in MadCap's production is Benedick and Beatrice's fantastic acrobatic endeavours to stay "hidden" as they are "overhearing" this gossip, expertly executed by actors Jefferson Bond and Matilda Bott. Both are also incredibly expressive and deliver Shakespeare's prose with a rapid energy throughout, a delight to watch.

Meanwhile, however, Don Pedro's brother, Don John, has been sidelined and plots his revenge against the "young start-up" Claudio. Having already failed once to foil Claudio's plans for marital bliss, he now takes more drastic measures, setting the tone for the play's darker second half.

Robert Moore is hilarious in his role as the sinister Don John, a real Disney villain you love to hate. But he is equally funny later in the play when he takes on the role of Don John's polar opposite, the bumbling constable Dogberry.

A simple set and classic Shakespeare costumes provide a blank canvas for the creative and dynamic performers to shine. If you have a passion for classic theatre – or want to cultivate one – then do keep an eye out for if and when MadCap Theatre Productions visit the Old Fire Station again (and look out for the many other productions going on around the city in this Shakespeare anniversary year).