Reviewed by Deborah Mackenzie
The familiar love story of Romeo & Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays and the plot has appeared in many semblances over the years, both on stage and on screen. There have also been a number of productions of the play setting it in different periods and locations, as this latest production has done by bringing it up to date in an attempt to make it relevant to young audiences.
Director Erica Whyman’s idea of knife crime and street fighting is a good one; with rival households of Romeo and that of Juliet worked well. I found the use of old language with new a bit mishmash at times and lost the beauty of Shakespeare’s poetry. Yet, incorporating a handful of pupils from schools across the country was a bold and fresh approach; giving life to the rest of the cast.
The balcony scene where the lovers wished for time to stand still was my favourite scene. The electricity between Romeo (Bally Gill) and Juliet (Karen Fishwick) sparked through each touch, look and kiss as they did not want to part at sunrise.
A mixture of gender casting where Mercutio was played by a woman; Charlotte Josephine showed that she was just as tough as the men on the street and is comfortable in the male dominate group where she is quick to defend her friends. At times she came across wild and crazy but in the setting it worked.
The production set of steel cube was bleak as the streets the story was set and was a far cry from Verona’s fair city. The family heritage of some wealth shone through with dress of suits and Juliet having a nurse maid – yet there was no change to depict this in scenery.
This new and contemporary production of Romeo & Juliet by the RSC is worth seeing.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £13.90 to £43.90 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).
Romeo & Juliet is at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow from 19-23 March 2019, for more information or to book tickets visit www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-glasgow or call the box office on 0844 871 7647.
Theatre Royal, 282 Hope Street, Glasgow, G2 3QA | 0844 871 7647
