ABSTRACT
Hero is the daughter of Leonato, the governor of Messina. On the surface she is a well brought up young lady. However, she is perfectly capable – as in this scene – of having fun. She is with one of her gentlewomen, Ursula – who is her close friend whilst also being her servant. Everybody knows that Hero’s cousin Beatrice is madly in love with Benedick (and vice-versa), but neither will admit it to the other. Hero has organised a ploy to trick Beatrice into following her true feelings. She has sent her other servant, Margaret, to tell Beatrice that Hero and Ursula are talking about her in the orchard. Beatrice has swallowed the bait and is hiding and overhearing them – something that Hero and Ursula are very well aware of. She could be any age between mid-teens and early twenties.
