Stream: Romeo and Juliet
I am a great fan of Dominic Dromgoole. He managed to follow the leadership of Mark Rylance, former artistic director, with productions that were worthy of his legacy. This production from 2009/2010 demonstrates his robust approach to the Bard. It was fast paced, lively and had the audience in his hands. Probably the most well-known of Shakespeare’s plays and regularly part of the school curriculum, the story of two warring families and the sad consequences of their bitter rivalry has a timeless quality which can translate into a thousand different productions and locations.
He chose for the actors to perform in traditional Elizabethan dress which befits the fabulous wooden O of the Globe. This is what audiences and tourists expect and enjoy, sitting under the sky in the fresh air on a summer afternoon. I miss it!
Romeo, played with youthful exuberance by Tomiwa Edun, circled and leapt around the thrust stage as an unthinking teenager in love, unaware of the circle of sorrow his love would cause. Juliet was played by Ellie Kendrick. She was educated at Benenden and Cambridge and brought that slightly irritating, spoilt persona as a daughter of a wealthy family to the part. Her delivery of the text was fast-paced and intelligent as the driver of the relationship, but she lost some of the beauty of the lines.
As Benvolio, Jack Farthing, later to be seen as lead villain in Poldark, was an adequate Benvolio and tackled the sword play with brio. Philip Cumbas played Mercutio as a typical drug-fuelled rake and died spectacularly in the first act. What a death Shakespeare penned for that part! The famous Queen Mab speech is a tricky one to deliver and his exposition was bitty and dramatic, again losing some of the poetry.
The stand-out performance was by Ukweli Roach as Tybalt. His display of hatred caught the mood of the rivalry between the two families exactly. Dromgoole’s staging and direction was terrific and kept the play alive throughout this familiar and, let’s face it, tragic story. I particularly like the carrying of Juliet on her tomb through the audience presenting a challenge for the actors and involving the audience in the piece. Perhaps a little slower pace and the opportunity to bring out the familiar lines might have elicited a few tears and weeping from the audience. But this production had all the hallmarks of a fine Shakespearean experience. What a shame his successor Emma Rice made such a mess of it and thankfully it is now in the hands of Michelle Terry.
Now streaming for free until the 3rd of May 2020.
