It must be quite difficult for a company to breathe new life
into such an eminent play as Romeo and Juliet, as audiences are so familiar
with the 'pair of star-crossed lovers'.
The young teen protagonists fall in love yet their warring
families, the Capulets and Montagues, impede their progress. It is their tragic
deaths, and not the power of their love, that overturns the feud. Audiences
never seem to tire of it. Nevertheless, is it possible to look afresh at this
hoary old warhorse?
Based on this frenzied production by Reading Between the Lines, it appears so. They have certainly achieved an element of originality by
shifting the action to a dystopian 2023 where, as Director Hal Chambers says in
the programme youth inhabits a world where ‘everyday is sex, dancing, fighting,
posturing and narcotics.’ To achieve this, he has bolstered the
drama with electrifying physicality emphasizing the animalistic tribal rivalry
staining Verona’s streets.
Sadly however, it is, to take Romeo out of context, ‘too
rough, too rude, too boisterous’. Don’t get me wrong I do not mean that in any
prurient way but refer to the constant and the harsh assault on the senses. The
sound, composed by Benjamin Hudson, ‘one half of hip hop/noise duo Baconhead’,
distracted from the lyrical splendour of the play, as did Lighting Designer
Oliver Welsh’s barrage of strobe and laser.
However, on a more positive note, the cast played well as
against the omnipresent spectre of death and the grungy urban set. The prologue
had already defined the action and, we know that Romeo (Will Rastall) and
Juliet (Emma Ballentine) cannot escape their fate. It concentrates the mind on
the rather more satisfying aspects of the drama especially the more vibrant
supporting roles. For example, the fine playing of Benedict Chambers’ bawdy
Mercutio, belligerent Tybalt (Stephen Boyce), and Pearl Marsland’s garrulous
Nurse each in their own way kept the drama from descending into maudlin
romance.
Whether the decision to place the action in 2023 was the
right one is not up for discussion here. Everyone will have his or her own
opinion. Moreover, even though at times it rankled it did bring immediacy and
topicality to the play. It will no doubt appeal to younger audiences, who I
believe make up a good percentage of RBL’s supporters. If so, that’s a good
thing for both the company and the future of professional theatre in Reading.
This review first appeared in Newbury Weekly News 26th September 2013
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