Don Pedro (Much Ado About Nothing)

A potential source of the character of Don Pedro is King Piero d'Aragona from Bandello's twenty-second novella.{{Cite journal|last=Thaler|first=Alwin|date=1940|title=Spenser and "Much Ado about Nothing"|journal=Studies in Philology|volume=37|issue=2|page=228|issn=0039-3738|jstor=4172485}} In the novella, the favourite of King Piero woos a young woman named Fenicia. This parallels how Don Pedro's favourite, Claudio, pursues a young woman, Hero.{{Cite journal|last=Bennett|first=Mackie Langham|title=Shakespeare's "much Ado" and ITS Possible Italian Sources|date=July 8, 1937|journal=Studies in English|issue=17|page=54|issn=2158-7957|jstor=20779485}} King Piero, in the Bandello story, was based on the historical figure Peter III of Aragon who became King of Sicily in 1282 after the violent uprising of the Sicilian Vespers.{{Cite book|title=Much Ado About Nothing: A Critical Reader|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year=2018|isbn=978-1-350-12653-4|editor-last=Cartmell|editor-first=Deborah|page=141|oclc=1104649341|editor-last2=Smith|editor-first2=Peter J.}}

Much Ado About Nothing was written while Messina, in Sicily, was part of the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon.{{Cite book|title=Much Ado About Nothing|last1=Shakespeare|first1=William|last2=Gamboa|first2=Brett|series=The Norton Shakespeare|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|others=Greenblatt, Stephen; Cohen, Walter; Gossett, Suzanne; Howard, Jean E.; Maus, Katharine Eisaman; and McMullan, Gordon|year=2016|isbn=978-0-393-93499-1|editor-last=Greenblatt|editor-first=Stephen|editor-link=Stephen Greenblatt|edition=3rd|location=New York|pages=1403|chapter=Textual Introduction|oclc=918589612|quote=Although the play is set in Messina, in Sicily, which at the time Shakespeare was writing was part of the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon, the Prince is at first called “Peter” before Shakespeare settles into calling him “Pedro.”}} Hence Don Pedro's presence in Italy despite being a Spanish Prince.

In many editions, Don Pedro is referred to in his speech prefixes simply as "Prince".{{Cite book|last=Shakespeare|first=William|title=Much Ado About Nothing|series=The New Oxford Shakespeare: Modern Critical Edition: The Complete Works|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0199591152|editor-last=Pruitt|editor-first=Anna}}

The name Pedro is the Spanish version of the name Peter.{{Cite web|url=https://www.behindthename.com/name/pedro|title=Meaning, origin and history of the name Pedro|last=Campbell|first=Mike|website=Behind the Name|access-date=2020-02-01}} Don is a Spanish honorific that was reserved for Spanish royalty.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Dominus |volume= 8 | page= 405; see lines 6 and 7 from end |quote=The Spanish form “don” is also a title, formerly applicable only to the nobility, and now one of courtesy and respect applied to any member of the better classes}}

Though he is called Pedro in the speech prefixes, Don Pedro is introduced as Don Peter in both the Folio and first quarto editions.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/facsimile/bookplay/SLNSW_F1/ado/index.html|title=Facsimile Viewer: First Folio (New South Wales)|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|publisher=University of Victoria|page=119|access-date=2020-02-01}}{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/facsimile/book/SLNSW_F1/120/index.html%3Fzoom=850.html|title=Facsimile Viewer: First Folio (New South Wales)|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|publisher=University of Victoria|page=120|access-date=January 31, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/facsimile/book/BPL_Q1_Ado/3/index.html?zoom=600.html|title=Facsimile Viewer: Much Ado About Nothing, Quarto 1 (Boston Public Library)|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|publisher=University of Victoria|page=3|access-date=2020-02-01}}{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/facsimile/book/BPL_Q1_Ado/4/index.html%3Fzoom=600.html|title=Facsimile Viewer: Much Ado About Nothing, Quarto 1 (Boston Public Library)|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|publisher=University of Victoria|page=4|access-date=January 31, 2020}}

Much Ado About Nothing begins with Leonato announcing that Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon, is coming to Messina. Don Pedro arrives with Benedick, Claudio, and his bastard brother, Don John. Leonato invites Don Pedro and company to stay with him and his family. Don Pedro resolves to help Claudio woo Leonato's daughter Hero by disguising himself as Claudio.

At the party, Don Pedro woos Hero on Claudio's behalf, but Don John convinces Claudio that Don Pedro betrayed him and wooed Hero for himself. After Claudio's misunderstanding is resolved and he and Hero are engaged, Don Pedro offers marriage to Beatrice who quickly turns him down. After Beatrice and Benedick leave the party, Don Pedro hatches a plan to trick Beatrice and Benedick into falling in love with each other. Don Pedro, Leonato, and Claudio discuss how Beatrice is in love with Benedick in front of a hiding Benedick to gull him into loving her.

Don John tricks Don Pedro and Claudio into thinking Hero has been unfaithful to Claudio, who, with the support of Don Pedro, accuses Hero at their wedding. Even after hearing that Hero has supposedly died, Don Pedro supports Claudio and condemns Hero for being dishonourable. Dogberry reveals Don John's lies to Don Pedro and Claudio. The next day, Don Pedro's original scheme works out and Beatrice and Benedick are married. Benedick tells Don Pedro that he should "Get [himself] a wife".{{Folger inline|Much Ado About Nothing|5|4|126}}

Don Pedro's goodness serves to balance out the Don John's wickedness.{{Cite journal|last=Babula|first=William|date=1976|title='Much Ado about Nothing' and the Spectator|journal=South Atlantic Bulletin|volume=41|issue=1|page=10|doi=10.2307/3198969|issn=0038-2868|jstor=3198969|hdl=10211.1/874|hdl-access=free}} Many critics contrast Don Pedro's well-intentioned deceptions, both of Beatrice and Benedick and of Hero, with Don John's bitter and malicious deception of Claudio and Don Pedro.{{Cite journal|last=Myhill|first=Nova|date=1999|title=Spectatorship in/of "Much Ado about Nothing"|journal=SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900|volume=39|issue=2|page=295|doi=10.2307/1556167|issn=0039-3657|jstor=1556167}}

Don Pedro is the only male character in Much Ado About Nothing to encourage a female character to speak.{{Cite journal|last=Myhill|first=Nova|date=1999|title=Spectatorship in/of "Much Ado about Nothing"|journal=SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900|volume=39|issue=2|pages=310|doi=10.2307/1556167|issn=0039-3657|jstor=1556167}} He tells Beatrice "Your silence most offends me."{{Folger inline|Much Ado About Nothing|2|1|324}}

In Janice Hayes's reading of Much Ado About Nothing, Claudio regards Don Pedro as a father figure; Claudio is thus afraid of engaging in "oedipal competition" with him over Hero.{{Cite journal|last=Cook|first=Carol|date=1986|title='The Sign and Semblance of Her Honor': Reading Gender Difference in Much Ado About Nothing|journal=PMLA|volume=101|issue=2|page=201, n10|doi=10.2307/462403|issn=0030-8129|quote=In Hayes's reading, Claudio regards Don Pedro as a kind of father figure and fears engaging in oedipal competition with him (84–85).|jstor=462403|s2cid=163904688 }}

There has been some debate as to the meaning of Hero's line, about Don Pedro, "Why then, your visor should be thatched".{{Folger inline|Much Ado About Nothing|2|1|96}} A. G. Newcomer interprets this line to refer to Don Pedro's baldness. Hilda Hulme interprets "thatch" to possibly refer to pubic hair rather than head hair. Others, such as Joost Daalder, follow Hulme's reading. Another possibility is that this line refers to Don Pedro's lack of a beard.{{Cite journal|last=Daalder|first=Joost|date=2004|title=The Thatched Visor in Much Ado About Nothing and Viola's Beard in Twelfth Night|journal=Journal of the Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association|volume=2004|issue=102|pages=1–12|doi=10.1179/000127904805260583|s2cid=53359684|issn=0001-2793}} It is additionally possible that this line refers to Don Pedro's mask being overly ornate and is a suggestion from Hero that his mask should be more humbly decorated. Contrarily, the mask itself could be lacking hair. In any case, the line is a put-down of Don Pedro.{{rp|1454}}

In the 1979’s Karasawagi, a Japanese language production of Much Ado About Nothing in Tokyo, the characters were given Japanese names. Don Pedro became Hyodo.{{Cite journal|last=Fleck|first=Agnes|date=1981|title=A Japanese Much Ado|journal=Shakespeare Quarterly|volume=32|issue=3|page=366|jstor=2870258|doi=10.2307/2870258}} The production was set during the Meji-era and Hyodo was depicted as having anti-Meji sentiments.{{Cite book|last=Shakespeare|first=William|title=Much Ado About Nothing|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1997|isbn=9780521598224|page=75}}

In 1986 in Shanghai, China, Much Ado About Nothing was adapted into Huangmei opera and featured Wang Shaofang as Don Pedro.{{Cite journal|last1=Peide|first1=Zha|last2=Jia|first2=Tian|date=1988|title=Shakespeare in Traditional Chinese Operas|journal=Shakespeare Quarterly|volume=39|issue=2|pages=204–205|jstor=2870631|doi=10.2307/2870631}}

In 1996, Ivar Kants played Don Pedro in the Bell Shakespeare Company’s production, which toured Australia.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1453/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1996, The Bell Shakespeare Company) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} In 2006, Donald Sword played Don Pedro with Shakespeare by the Sea in Sydney, Australia.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1790/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2006, Shakespeare by the Sea – Sydney) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}}

In 2006, Nicholas Ofczarek played Don Pedro in the German language production, Viel Lärm um nichts, at the Burgtheater in Austria.{{Cite web|url=https://www.berlinerfestspiele.de/de/berliner-festspiele/programm/bfs-gesamtprogramm/programmdetail_7041.html|title=Theatertreffen – Viel Lärm um nichts|website=www.berlinerfestspiele.de|language=de|access-date=2020-02-08|archive-date=2020-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215225835/https://www.berlinerfestspiele.de/de/berliner-festspiele/programm/bfs-gesamtprogramm/programmdetail_7041.html|url-status=dead}} Don Pedro was referred to as "Prinz Pedro" and wore a "goldensten Trainingsanzug" (most golden tracksuit).{{Cite news|url=https://www.derstandard.at/story/2690529/erbin-alleinerbin-shakespeare-im-burgtheater|title='Erbin. Alleinerbin.': Shakespeare im Burgtheater|last=Niedermeier|first=Cornelia|date=December 11, 2006|newspaper=Der Standard|language=de-AT|access-date=2020-02-08}}

Robert Beyer played both Don Pedro and Don John in Viel Lärm um nichts in 2013 at the Schaubühne theatre in Berlin, Germany.{{Cite web|url=https://www.schaubuehne.de/en/produktionen/viel-laerm-um-nichts.html?ID_Vorstellung=188|title=Much Ado About Nothing|website=Schaubühne Berlin|language=en|access-date=2020-02-02}} For part of the performance, Don Pedro is dressed as Kermit the Frog.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kultura-extra.de/theater/feull/rezension_viellaermumnichts_schaubuehneberlin.php|title=Kultura-Extra, das online-magazin|last=Tuschick|first=Jamal|date=September 4, 2013|website=www.kultura-extra.de|access-date=2020-02-09}}

At the National Theatre Company, Don Pedro has been performed by Derek Jacobi (1967) in a production that was also filmed for television.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/recorded/427/index.html|title=Much Ado about Nothing (1967, Alan Cooke) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Julian Wadham portrayed Don Pedro also at the National in 2007 in Nicholas Hytner's production set in 19th century Italy.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2007/legit/reviews/much-ado-about-nothing-17-1200553884/|title=Much Ado About Nothing|last=Benedict|first=David|date=2007-12-19|website=Variety|access-date=2020-01-20}}

At the Royal Shakespeare Company, Don Pedro has been portrayed by Norman Rodway (1968),{{Cite web|url=http://collections.shakespeare.org.uk/search/rsc-performances/muc196810/view_as/list/search/everywhere:much-ado-about-nothing/page/1|title=RSC Performances – MUC196810 – Much Ado About Nothing|website=collections.shakespeare.org.uk|access-date=2020-01-20}} Jeffery Dench (1971),{{Cite web|url=http://collections.shakespeare.org.uk/search/rsc-performances/muc197105/view_as/list/search/everywhere:much-ado-about-nothing/page/1|title=RSC Performances – MUC197105 – Much Ado About Nothing|website=collections.shakespeare.org.uk|access-date=2020-01-20}} Robin Ellis (1976),{{Cite web|url=http://collections.shakespeare.org.uk/search/rsc-performances/muc197604/view_as/list/search/everywhere:much-ado-about-nothing/page/1|title=RSC Performances – MUC197604 – Much Ado About Nothing|website=collections.shakespeare.org.uk|access-date=2020-01-20}} Derek Godfrey (1982),{{Cite web|url=http://collections.shakespeare.org.uk/search/rsc-performances/muc198204/view_as/list/search/everywhere:much-ado-about-nothing/page/1|title=RSC Performances – MUC198204 – Much Ado About Nothing|website=collections.shakespeare.org.uk|access-date=2020-01-20}} David Lyon (1988),{{Cite web|url=http://collections.shakespeare.org.uk/search/rsc-performances/muc198804/view_as/list/search/everywhere:much-ado-about-nothing/page/1|title=RSC Performances – MUC198804 – Much Ado About Nothing|website=collections.shakespeare.org.uk|access-date=2020-01-20}} John Carlisle (1990),{{Cite web|url=http://collections.shakespeare.org.uk/search/rsc-performances/muc199004/view_as/list/search/everywhere:much-ado-about-nothing/page/1|title=RSC Performances – MUC199004 – Much Ado About Nothing|website=collections.shakespeare.org.uk|access-date=2020-01-20}} Clive Wood (2002),{{Cite web|url=http://collections.shakespeare.org.uk/search/rsc-performances/muc200205/view_as/list/search/everywhere:much-ado-about-nothing/page/1|title=RSC Performances – MUC200205 – Much Ado About Nothing|website=collections.shakespeare.org.uk|access-date=2020-01-20}} Patrick Robinson (2006),{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2006/may/19/theatre.rsc|title=Much Ado About Nothing, Swan, Stratford-upon-Avon|last=Billington|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Billington (critic)|date=2006-05-19|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2020-01-20}} Shiv Grewal (2012),{{Cite journal|last=Hopkins|first=Justin B.|date=2013|title=Much Ado About Nothing (review)|journal=Shakespeare Bulletin|volume=31|issue=2|pages=292–297|doi=10.1353/shb.2013.0037|s2cid=191556543|issn=1931-1427}} and John Hodgkinson (2014), though the show was referred to as Love’s Labour’s Won.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/oct/16/loves-labours-lost-loves-labours-won-sense|title=Love's Labour's Lost/Love's Labour's Won – a perceptive pairing|last=Billington|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Billington (critic)|date=2014-10-16|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2020-01-20}} The 1988 performance featuring David Lyon's Don Pedro was set during World War II; Don Pedro and company arrived in Messina via helicopter.{{Cite journal|last=Berg|first=Fredric|date=1989|title=Review of Much Ado about Nothing|journal=Theatre Journal|volume=41|issue=3|pages=403–405|doi=10.2307/3208191|issn=0192-2882|jstor=3208191}} Clive Wood's 2002 Don Pedro was described as "nervously enthusiastic, well turned-out, and slightly camp" upon his arrival at Messina.{{Cite journal|last=Jackson|first=Russell|date=2003|title=Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon: Summer and Winter, 2002–2003|journal=Shakespeare Quarterly|volume=54|issue=2|page=169|issn=0037-3222|jstor=3844174|doi=10.1353/shq.2003.0073|s2cid=191531623}} Shiv Grewal's 2012 Don Pedro was just returning from a peace-keeping mission with the UN.{{Cite news|last=Cavendish|first=Dominic|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/9447812/Much-Ado-About-Nothing-RSC-Courtyard-Theatre-Stratford-upon-Avon-review.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing, RSC Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, review|date=August 2, 2012|work=The Telegraph|location=London|access-date=February 8, 2020|quote=Conceptually the continental shift works well. To judge by their blue berets and camouflage gear, Don Pedro and his men are returning from a UN peace-keeping mission.}}

At Shakespeare's Globe in London, the role of Don Pedro has been performed by Ewan Stewart (2011){{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/arts/08iht-LON08.html|title=Divergent Takes on Much Ado|last=Wolf|first=Matt|date=2011-06-07|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2020-02-02}} and Steve John Shepherd (2017).{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/jul/21/much-ado-about-nothing-review-shakespeares-globe-mexican-revolution|title=Much Ado About Nothing review – more sombreros than a Club 18–30 holiday|last=Gardner|first=Lyn|date=2017-07-21|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2020-02-02}}

In 2005, Charles Edwards played Don Pedro in Peter Hall's production at the Theatre Royal, Bath.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/muchadobath-rev|title=Theatre review: Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Royal, Bath|last=Wood|first=Pete|website=British Theatre Guide|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-02-09}} Edwards' Don Pedro has a "homosexual fixation with Claudio" which explained his willingness to believe Hero's unfaithfulness and thus prevent Claudio from marrying.{{Cite news|last=Billington|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Billington (critic)|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/jul/08/theatre1|title=Private Lives/Much Ado About Nothing, Theatre Royal, Bath|date=2005-07-08|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2020-02-09}} Edwards later went on to play Benedick in Much Ado in 2011 at Shakespeare's Globe.{{Cite news|last=Billington|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Billington (critic)|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/may/27/much-ado-about-nothing-globe|title=Much Ado About Nothing – review|date=2011-05-27|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2020-02-15}}

In 1993, Jack Ellis played Don Pedro at the Queen's Theatre in London.{{Cite web|url=https://theatricalia.com/play/1/much-ado-about-nothing/production/d06|title=Production of Much Ado About Nothing|website=theatricalia.com|access-date=2020-02-02}} James Garnon played Don Pedro in Mark Rylance's 2013 production at The Old Vic in London.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2013/much-ado-about-nothing|title=Much Ado About Nothing|website=The Old Vic|language=en|access-date=2020-02-02}} Adam James played Don Pedro in Josie Rourke's 2011 production at the Wyndham Theatre.{{Cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2011/legit/reviews/much-ado-about-nothing-2-1117945374/|title=Much Ado About Nothing|last=Benedict|first=David|date=2011-06-03|magazine=Variety|access-date=2020-02-02}} Don Pedro has also been portrayed by Peter Guinness in 2018’s production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, directed by Simon Dormandy.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/apr/19/much-ado-about-nothing-review-mel-giedroyc|title=Much Ado About Nothing review – Mel Giedroyc blazes through Great Sicilian Bake Off|last=Billington|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Billington (critic)|date=2018-04-19|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2020-01-20}} In Simon Dormandy's Much Ado, Don Pedro and company were members of the mafia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/reviews/review-much-ado-about-nothing-starring-mel-giedroyc-at-rose-theatre-kingston|title=Review – Much Ado About Nothing starring Mel Giedroyc at Rose Theatre Kingston|last=Varley|first=Georgina|date=April 23, 2018|website=London Theatre Guide|language=en|access-date=2020-02-09}}

At the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Don Pedro has been portrayed by William Hutt (1958),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/3178/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1958, Stratford Festival of Canada) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Eric Donkin (1971),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/3329/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1971, Stratford Festival of Canada) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Lewis Gordon (1977),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/3115/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1977, Stratford Festival of Canada) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Jim McQueen (1980),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/3170/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1980, Stratford Festival of Canada) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} John Franklyn-Robbins (1983),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/3369/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1983, Stratford Festival of Canada) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Edward Atienza (1987),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/3218/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1987, Stratford Festival of Canada) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Leon Pownall (1991),{{Cite news|last=Chapman|first=Geoff|title=Monette makes much of Ado About Nothing: [FIN Edition]|date=May 30, 1991|work=Toronto Star}} James Blendick (1998),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/3248/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1998, Stratford Festival of Canada) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Shane Carty (2006),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/3210/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2006, Stratford Festival of Canada) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} and Juan Chioran (2012).{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/stratford-opening-much-ado-about-deborah-hay/article4217483/|title=Stratford opening: Much ado about Deborah Hay|last=Hou|first=David|date=May 29, 2012|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=January 29, 2020}} In 2020, André Sills will play{{update inline|date=September 2023}} Don Pedro at Stratford.{{Cite web|url=https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/WhatsOn/PlaysAndEvents/Production/Much-Ado-About-Nothing|title=Much Ado About Nothing|website=Stratford Festival|access-date=January 24, 2020}} The 1998 Stratford performance featured James Blendick's Don Pedro in an imagined scene where Pedro and Claudio stood outside Hero's window and heard Margaret singing a song associated with Hero. This production attempted to rationalize and explain Don Pedro and Claudio's deception and subsequent shaming of Hero.{{Cite journal|last=Taylor|first=Gary|date=1999|title=Theatrical Proximities: The Stratford Festival 1998|journal=Shakespeare Quarterly|volume=50|issue=3|page=340|doi=10.2307/2902362|issn=0037-3222|jstor=2902362}}

At Bard on the Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia, Don Pedro has been played by Dean Paul Gibson in 1996,{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1032/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1996, Bard on the Beach) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Gerry Mackay in 2004,{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/960/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2004, Bard on the Beach) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} and Ian Butcher in 2017. Butcher's Don Pedro was a famous film director visiting Leonato's film studio.{{Cite news|last=Lederman|first=Marsha|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/theatre-reviews/review-much-ado-about-nothing-puts-a-wildly-fun-twist-on-a-shakespeare-classic/article35538239/|title=Review: Much Ado About Nothing puts a wildly fun twist on a Shakespeare classic|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=July 3, 2017|access-date=2020-02-15}}

Elsewhere in Canada, Don Pedro has been portrayed by Matt Burgess with Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan in 2004 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan;{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1030/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2004, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan)|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Ross Neill at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival in Prescott, Ontario in 2006;{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1911/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2006, St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} and Nathan Bender in 2006 with Shakespeare by the Sea in Halifax, Nova Scotia.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/2004/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2006, Shakespeare by the Sea – Halifax) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} In 2019, Christopher Morris played Don Pedro, whose name had been modernized to Don Peter, at the High Park Amphitheatre in Toronto, Ontario.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/review/2019/07/13/this-much-ado-about-nothing-gives-shakespeare-a-1990s-romcom-sensibility.html|title=This Much Ado About Nothing gives Shakespeare a 1990s romcom sensibility|last=Maga|first=Carly|date=July 13, 2019|work=Toronto Star|access-date=29 January 2020}}

At the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, Don Pedro has been performed by Allen Fletcher (1952),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/965/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1952, Oregon Shakespeare Festival) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Richard Graham (1958),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/978/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1958, Oregon Shakespeare Festival) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Ray Keith Pond (1965),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/993/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1965, Oregon Shakespeare Festival) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Will Huddleston (1971),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1008/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1971, Oregon Shakespeare Festival) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Larry R. Ballard (1976),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/collection/10307/10329/index.html|title=Artifact 10329 (from collection 10307) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} and Peter Macon (2009).{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/2249/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2009, Oregon Shakespeare Festival) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}}

At the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder, Colorado, Don Pedro has been played by Joseph F. Musikar (1977),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1185/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1977, Colorado Shakespeare Festival) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Barry Kraft (1990),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1235/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1990, Colorado Shakespeare Festival) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} John Pasha (1997),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1264/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1997, Colorado Shakespeare Festival) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} and Frank J. Mihelich (2003).{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1286/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2003, Colorado Shakespeare Festival) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}}

At the Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise, Idaho, Don Pedro has been portrayed by Doug Copsey (1981),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/collection/24531/24541/index.html|title=Artifact 24541 (from collection 24531) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Kevin Connell (1989),{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/collection/13581/13586/index.html|title=Artifact 13586 (from collection 13581) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} and Douglas Frederick (2002).{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/collection/24682/24691/index.html|title=Artifact 24691 (from collection 24682) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}}

With the Marin Shakespeare Company in California, Don Pedro has been portrayed by Mark Hurty in 1995{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1338/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1995, Marin Shakespeare Company) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} and Michael Wiles in 2002.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1324/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2002, Marin Shakespeare Company) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}}

In 2005, James Denvil played Don Pedro at the Folger Theatre. This production, directed by Nick Hutchison, transformed the Spanish Don Pedro into an American officer.{{Cite journal|last=Hocking|first=Bree|date=October 25, 2005|title=In Much Ado, All's Fair in Love and War|journal=CQ Roll Call|page=1|issn=0035-788X}}

At the American Shakespeare Centre in Staunton, Virginia, Don Pedro has been played by Gregory Jon Phelps in 2012{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/2643/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2012, American Shakespeare Center) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} and Josh Innerst in 2015.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/3094/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2015, American Shakespeare Center) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}}

At the Old Globe in San Diego, California, Don Pedro has been portrayed by Donald Carrier in 2011{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/2536/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2011, The Old Globe) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} and Michael Boatman in 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.stageandcinema.com/2018/08/20/much-ado-about-nothing-globe/|title=Theater Review: Much Ado About Nothing (The Old Globe)|last=Frankel|first=Tony|date=August 20, 2018|website=www.stageandcinema.com|access-date=2020-02-15}}

In 2019, Billy Eugene Jones played Don Pedro in an all-black production of Much Ado About Nothing directed by Kenny Leon at Shakespeare in the Park in New York City. This production was later broadcast on television as part of PBS's “Great Performances”.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/11/17/all-black-much-ado-about-nothing-brings-shakespeare-into-21st-century-on-pbs/|title=All-black 'Much Ado About Nothing' brings Shakespeare into 21st century on PBS|last=Dickie|first=George|date=November 17, 2019|work=Boston Herald|access-date=February 1, 2020}}

Elsewhere in America, Don Pedro has been played by Peter Rini at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC (2002);{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1070/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2002, Shakespeare Theatre Company) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Ron Heneghan in 2004 at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival in Center Valley, Pennsylvania;{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/collection/6822/6828/index.html|title=Artifact 6828 (from collection 6822) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Jerry Vogel at the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2007;{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1800/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2007, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Mike Ryan in 2007 at Shakespeare Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California;{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/1534/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2007, Shakespeare Santa Cruz) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} Stephen Lydic at Shakespeare by the Sea in Los Angeles, California in 2011;{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/2635/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2011, Shakespeare by the Sea – Los Angeles) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} and John Hickok at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison, New Jersey in 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/stage/3110/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (2014) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}}

Don Pedro was first performed on film in the 1964 German language adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, Viel Lärm um nichts by German actor {{ill|Wilfried Ortmann|de}}.{{IMDb title|tt0057658|Viel Lärm um nichts}}

In English, Don Pedro has been portrayed by Denzel Washington, in Kenneth Brannagh’s 1993 adaptation,{{Cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/much-ado-about-nothing-1993|title=Much Ado About Nothing movie review (1993)|last=Ebert|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert|website=www.rogerebert.com|access-date=2020-01-20}} and Reed Diamond, in Joss Whedon’s 2012 adaptation.{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a464250/joss-whedons-much-ado-actors-where-you-know-them-from/|title=Meet Much Ado About Nothing{{'}}s Whedonverse cast|last=Dibdin|first=Emma|date=2013-06-11|website=Digital Spy|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-01-20}}

There have been several televised recordings of Much Ado About Nothing. A recording of the 1967 National Theatre production was directed for television by Alan Cooke and featured Derek Jacobi as Don Pedro.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/recorded/427/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1967, Alan Cooke) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} 1973's televised recording of the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of Much Ado featured Douglass Watson as Don Pedro.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/recorded/428/index.html|title=Much Ado about Nothing (1973, A.J. Antoon) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}}

Nigel Davenport played Don Pedro in 1978 as part of the BBC's "Shakespeare Plays" series directed by Donald McWhinnie.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/recorded/431/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1978, Donald McWhinnie) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}} In 1984, this production was replaced as part of the "Shakespeare Plays" series by a production featuring Jon Finch as Don Pedro and directed by Stuart Burge.{{Cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Theater/production/recorded/432/index.html|title=Much Ado About Nothing (1984, Stuart Burge) – Shakespeare in Performance|website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca|access-date=2020-01-20}}

In 2005, as part of the ShakespeaRe-Told series, Michael Smiley portrayed a modernized version of Don Pedro called Peter.{{IMDb title|tt0468034|Much Ado About Nothing|(ShakespeaRe-Told)}} Peter is the director of the local news show, Wessex Tonight.{{YouTube|title=Shakespeare Retold Much Ado About Nothing Part 2|id=NqqDpY7R_Lc}}

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Category:Literary characters introduced in 1599

Category:Male Shakespearean characters

Category:Fictional princes

Category:Fictional Spanish people