Romeo and Juliet at Derby Playhouse till 2nd July
Derby
ROMEO AND JULIET: William Shakespeare
Derby Playhouse: Tkts 01332 363275 www.derbyplayhouse.co.uk
Runs: 3hrs: one interval: till 2nd July
Performance times 7.30pm and 2.30pm matinees Weds and most Sats
Review: Alan Geary: 2 June 2005
Appreciate this production for its many positive features: don't take the gimmicks to heart
Too much of this otherwise interesting production is dominated by what looks like a giant corporation dustcart. It fills the stage, getting in the way, not only of Shakespeare's text but of some excellent performances.
At the start we have a tolling bell, and a figure in monk's cowl and habit who turns out to be the Chorus; all very ominous and tasteful.
Then on comes the dustcart. All right, according to the programme it's supposed to be a water carrier and symbolic of a multitude of things; but your eyes tell you it's a dustcart.
For most of the play it becomes the major prop: people clamber about on it; Juliet takes a bath in it; and bits of it are even broken off to be used for weapons in fights.
This isn't the only apparently pointless gimmick the Prince comes on wearing shades and riding a motor-bike but, in what is otherwise a pleasing production, it is by far the most troublesome.
Once that dustcart is taken off, a great play is allowed to speak for itself and we get some of the best moments of the evening.
Some of these come via Alistair Robins, as the Chorus and Mercutio. A much meatier character than Romeo, Mercutio is given that essential hyperactive neuroticism, but additionally, a sort of rolling-eyed evil.
The Nurse is well-played, this time by Genevieve Walsh. The scene where she eats a tangerine before giving Juliet the good news is a delight.
These days we expect the eponymous characters to be very young; Ben Joiner and Olivia Lumley don't play them as such.
Despite the playful swinging of her legs when we first see her, Lumley hardly convinces as a girl of, perhaps, fourteen. She has the deepish, cultured voice of an older woman, used most effectively in the emotional scenes, for example when she hears that Romeo has been banished.
Romeo is too old to be admonished by Friar Lawrence for youthful impetuosity.
Appreciate this production for its acting, for its visual interest, for its background music, for its sinister edge, exemplified by the masks worn in the ball scene, and because it's a great play. Don't take the gimmicks to heart.
Cast
Romeo: Ben Joiner
Juliet: Olivier Lumley
Mercutio: Alistair Robins
Nurse; Genevieve Walsh
Capulet: Robin Bowerman
Peter: Andy Brady
Lady Capulet: Mary Conlon
Paris: Ashley Cook
Benvolio: Gareth Farr
Tybalt: Matthew Flynn
Montague: Gordon Langford-Rowe
Friar Laurence: Ben Roberts
Director: Stephen Edwards
Designer: Duncan Hayler
Lighting: Charles Balfour
Music: Kelvin Towse
2005-06-04 11:07:39