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Romeo And Juliet
Verdict: Inconsistent styles
Cambridge - King's College Gardens - 1-20 August 05
Romeo And Juliet is a love-hate tragedy set in Verona, Italy. It involves two great feuding families, the Capulets and Montagues.
The Capulets arrange their Juliet’s marriage to a suitable gentleman, Paris. True love gets in the way and the lovers' fate is sealed by do-gooders who unfortunately trust those not to be trusted.
This production starts off strongly. A stylized confrontation follows. Directorial flaws (and there are many) begin to show - initially in a small way. When the Prince (Emily Chugg) breaks up the brawl between the men and women of the two families they neither bow nor show respect while warned of the penalty.
The relationship between Romeo and Benvolio (William Peebles) is clear and well-played. Patrick Hyde convincingly delivers Romeo’s journey in the play, using a gifted range of emotions.
The two leads give strong performances and work closely together. Philippa Paget’s Juliet hangs on Romeo’s every word. But the balcony scenes are played too wide. Only the skills of the lead actors compensate for their bad positioning.
Two characters, the Nurse (Lynn Whitehead) and Mercuitio (Adam Lawrinson) are in danger of stealing the show. Their scenes are lifted straight off the page. The Old Accustomed feasts of The Capulets is one of the better-worked segments. The behaviour and dance by the three gatecrashers, Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio is particularly impressive. Elsewhere there are inconsistencies of styles throughout the play.
The marriage-fixing encounter between Capulet (Clive Dancey) and Paris, is a nice contrast to what comes before. David Haworth as Paris makes all his scenes a pleasure to watch - in particular the one with Juliet and the Friar. The mixing of the potion for Juliet by Annette Ross’s Friar is naturalistic genius. It gives interesting exposition - that some other scenes don't deliver. The episode with Nurse, Juliet and Lady Capulet (Penelope Dudley) is a fine comic moment.
Capulet’s displeasure at his daughter’s insolent rejection of his choice of husband is grossly mis-directed. Capulet stays calm too long and raises his voice as he gets physical - just when he should be trying to calm down after his outburst. Because of the vacuum, Nurse and Juliet have nothing to work off - and the scene loses focus. Bad direction also mars the critical scene where Nurse finds Juliet 'asleep', and the climactic death of the two leads.
Musicians Emily Chugg on flute and Annette Ross on guitar and drum are outstanding (especially in the Capulets' feast). Fight scenes are well-directed, and convincingly executed.
Cast Credits: Romeo - Patrick Hyde. Juliet - Philippa Paget. Tybalt/Paris - David Haworth. Nurse/Samson/Apothecary - Lynne Whitehead.
Lord Capulet - Clive Dancey. Mercutio/Montague - Adam Lawrinson. Benvolio - William Peebles. Friar Lawrence - Annette Ross. Chorus/Prince/Friar John - Emily Chugg. Lady Capulet/Gregory - Penelope Dudley.
Company Credits: Writer - William Shakespeare. Director - Jake Lyons. Stage Combat Director - Simon Bell. Executive Producer/Costume Supervisor - Jan Burns. Publicity Design - Ab Creative, Cambridge. Printing - Blue Print. Website - www.cambridgeshakespeare.com. Cambridge Shakespeare Festival
END
(c) Richard F Clare 2005
reviewed 1 August 05 / King’s College Gardens
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008
www.fringereport.com
