"Romeo & Juliet"
A beautiful, thrilling piece of Shakespeare. Bonus was Shakespeare's words in the original language, but even in a
translation this would've been excellent.
The theatre is fairly small, with a welcoming atmosphere; the stage is tiny, with a slight slope, and the proscenium
frame is painted with a flowery sort of design in white, pastel red and orangey-earthy tones. Very basic, really, as
was the set -- with curtains being drawn, a balcony that was pushed onto the stage and a few screen walls which served
e.g. as the entrance to the tomb. Two pillars at the back of the stage frame a sort of "discovery space" i.e. a window
that can be opened with a bench underneath, which was where Juliet lay on the bier. There are two entrances onto the
stage from the left and right and two sets of steps (left and right) leading up to the stage from the auditorium.
The cast, all native speakers, were very good as a team, with some shining individual performances. I liked Balthasar
(Kevin Brock) and Friar Laurence (David Kendall). They had a solid presence on the stage and delivered their lines well.
Tybalt/Paris (Jethro Skinner) was very skilled with the sword, though I found his "Peace...I hate the word..." not exactly
inspiring. Yet he was suitably angry and passionate, translating the emotions well into the physical, particularly
Tybalt's fight sequences. As Paris, Mr Skinner was exactly as I thought the character should be -- present, slightly
ambiguous in his motives (real love for Juliet or wish to possess her and have an ally in Capulet?), and moved at
Juliet's death.
Lady Capulet (Nicola Burnett Smith) had a wonderful singing voice (she sung some Italian lament about a dove) at Juliet's
death and while her body was carried around the stage. Other than that, I found her unremarkable, much like her husband
Capulet (Jeffrey Harmer), who raged and stormed at Juliet's defiance, but never truly managed to convince me he was a
cruel patriarch. He was a very intriguing Apothecary though.
The Nurse, also Lady Montague, (Felicity Duncan) was exquisite. To see such a performance is what I consider a treat.
Perfectly rounded characterisation, performed artlessly and enthusiastically and subtly bringing out the comedy inherent
in the role, without going overboard. Ms Duncan was intensely *there* at all times, in her joy, her silliness, her
counsel and her grief. I don't think the role could've been performed better.
I felt Montague (Michael Hucks) wasn't overly enthusiastic in that role, but as Friar John and especially as Peter,
he was excellent. Peter was an idiot, a dim-witted clownish kind of guy. He was very funny, very cute, very compelling,
yet never vulgar, which I appreciated. I loved Benvolio (James Wooldridge). He never "took the stage", but I enjoyed his
delivery of his lines, the subtle emphasis, boyish exuberance and mischievous smirk. I must admit I found him excessively
reminiscent of Edward III's champion (minor character in "Edward II" by Christopher Marlowe) when he came out with a huge
black helmet and a black shirt with a gold bird on it as the First Watch.
I was very taken with Mercutio (Giles Ford), who was a perfect embodiment of the character, delivering his lines with
supreme charm and spirit. His gestures were helpful in "explaining" some of the bawdier jokes, and he was constantly
moving around the stage. I loved the 'Queen Mab' speech. It was very simply, yet intensely spoken, with pointed emphasis
and an ear for the poetry.
Mr Ford also made Mercutio carefree and mischievous (he had to anger Tybalt even more by parrying a thrust, pushing
himself against the other and kissing him squarely on the lips ;D) and an excellent swords-man. His death was nicely
done, lots of stumbling, but with the same quietness, no shouting or raging, just a more pronounced delivery of the
words. I thought he was fantastic. As Prince, he didn't fascinate me as much, he seemed a bit lacklustre.
I should perhaps use this word as a starting point for Romeo (Jack Laskey). Lacklustre is what I would say to describe
the performance. It wasn't that it seemed he were not aware of *what* he was saying (i.e. had trouble understanding the
Shakespearean text he was working with), it rather seemed to me he didn't know *how* to say it. He just couldn't get
his point across, rushing through the poetry as if he were trying to get it done already.
His lack of passion was dispiriting. Any romance in the language (starting with "If I profane with my unworthiest hand",
to the balcony scene and finally the death scene at the tomb) was just not there in his delivery. The only spirit that I
saw was when he was round the boys (Mercutio and Benvolio), there was nothing of the lover in him when he was with Juliet.
Mr Laskey did, however, do fantastically in the fight scenes, and the rage in his duel with Tybalt was powerful, compelling
and very tangible.
Juliet is, as I gathered from her biography, Kathie McGuiness' professional stage debut. And what a debut it was! She does
look the part of the young girl, but she loves with a fervour and passion that are breathtaking and touching. I could
see that she was taking great pains to pronounce each line as clearly and as delicately as possible and every nuance of
inflection in the poetry was spot on. She touched me with her portrayal, with her smiles and tears and certainly set a
standard for future Juliets I'll be seeing.
Both the performers' doubling and the (very few I'd say) cuts worked wonderfully and the costumes were very nice too. It
was a sort of "original" production, in that the men wore tights and the women flowing gowns. Not Elizabethan, but original
in the sense of the standard "non-modern" Shakespeare productions.
The lighting, designed by and operated by Ernst Peinlich was subtle and evocative -- lots of pale red washes for the
romantic moments, ordinary yellow washes for sunlight and dark-bluish tinges for night scenes, with subtle, whitish
spotlights, emphasising the ghostly pallor of moonlight. The use of gobos was intricate, with mostly leave patterns
that left further shadows on the painted backgrounds and created a myriad of movement and delicate differences.
Furthermore, the light was never completely dimmed (except for the night scenes), which meant there was a sort of
glow on the audience, so you could almost think the performers would be able to see it.
One other thing I need to point out are the fights. There were a number of them -- from the street brawl straight at
the beginning, to Mercutio and Tybalt, then Romeo and Tybalt fighting and finally to Romeo and Paris' duel at the
Capulet's tomb. Fight director Malcolm Ranson is extraordinary -- the choreography and footwork are impressive, especially
considering the size of the stage and the intricacy of the fencing.
The most fascinating fight was the Mercutio/Tybalt one; it was very long, very energetic, a lot of dancing about each
other, clashing swords, turns, parries…better than any musketeer film. So cool. Romeo and Benvolio weren't idle, the
latter pushing Romeo against the wall, trying to hold him back, prevent him from intervening, then Romeo getting into
the melee; there wasn't a step out of line, it was all smoothly and flawlessly executed. Just brilliant.
I particularly enjoyed the rawness and rage of Romeo's subsequent fight with Tybalt. No more grace, just push, parry,
thrust, with Benvolio trying to get in and pull Romeo away from Tybalt, whom he stabbed three times in rapid succession,
then, as he fell to the ground, flung himself onto him, raining blows on him. It was an amazing display of rage and as
such worked splendidly, because it conveyed the panic and pain in Romeo at that moment. He wasn't thinking straight, he
was only feeling.
Another thing I loved about the production was the almost "Globe-like" atmosphere that was evoked by the use of the
auditorium. The actors used the aisle leading up to the steps at the front of the stage as the third entrance/exit,
and very frequently I might add. For the scenes at Laurence's cell, the auditorium was actually the church, with Juliet
coming up the aisle to meet with Romeo, or the Nurse knocking on the door, then running up to the stage with the Friar.
Also, the scenes at the marketplace actually used the auditorium as an extension of the space; Montague it was I think
came on via this route with his wife during the brawl that opens the play; Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio exited through
the doors into the auditorium quite frequently, only to pop up on stage again. Definitely a lot of running around for
the performers, but *very* worthwhile for the audience in terms of being included.
Just one more thing I've got to mention is the death scene in the tomb. Romeo, having waxed poetic about Juliet's beauty
even in death (and having made me murmur "Get on with it and die already"), drank his poison and flopped down onto Juliet.
The Friar raced in through the auditorium, Juliet woke, was disoriented and didn't even notice she had her dead lover
draped across her lap. Once the Friar had pointed out that little detail, her confusion turned to the most palpable
expression of grief and after he'd left again, she gathered Romeo to her and started sobbing.
What I especially enjoyed was the brief, clipped way, Juliet proceeded to say the rest of her lines, almost mechanically,
but brimming with emotion. Beautiful, up to the moment when she took Romeo's dagger. She turned it so the audience would
see it pointed at her chest, then took Romeo's limp hand and closed it with hers around the hilt, stabbing herself, giving
a (very real) gasp and falling backwards onto the bier, pulling Romeo back on top of her again, so he lay, as he had done
before, with his head pillowed on her chest. I just loved that staging.
I also found Juliet's burial very nicely done -- she was placed on three stools that had been pushed together and the men
(Peter, Capulet, Gregory and Paris) had sticks with a bit of gauzy black cloth framed in gold hanging from them, which
they used as hilts to carry the stools around the stage twice. I loved the idea of the procession and of Lady Capulet
singing that Italian lament (background music was nicely placed throughout the play, though I didn't notice it overly much).
After Juliet had been deposited in the tomb, her mother and the Nurse placed a veil (the same black, gauzy, golden framed
cloth as on the sticks) over her body and she lay there in the background during the three short scenes of Romeo in Mantua,
Romeo with the Apothecary and Friar Laurence and the unsent letter. A very poignant reminder, and beautiful staging.
Certainly one of the best Shakespeare productions I've seen so far, including the Globe. And that's the highest
compliment I can give ;D. I'm hoping there'll be more Shakespeare at Vienna's English Theatre next year, because
I definitely won't be missing it! ;D
Adapted and directed by Andrew Hall.
Balthasar -- Kevin Brock
Lady Capulet -- Nicola Burnett Smith
Nurse/Lady Montague -- Felicity Duncan
Mercutio/Prince -- Giles Ford
Capulet/Apothecary -- Jeffrey Harmer
Montague/Peter/Friar John -- Michael Hucks
Friar Laurence/Gregory -- David Kendall
Romeo -- Jack Laskey
Juliet -- Kathie McGuiness
Tybalt/Paris -- Jethro Skinner
Benvolio/First Watch -- James Wooldridge
Questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to me at
ferngully_at@yahoo.com.