ROMEO & JULIET. To 22 October.

Manchester

ROMEO & JULIET
by William Shakespeare

Royal Exchange Theatre To 22 October 2005
Mon-Fri 7.30pm Sat 8pm Mat Wed 2.30pm Sat 4pm
Post-show discussion 13 Oct
Runs 3hr 15min One interval

TICKETS: 0161 833 9833
www.royalexchange.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 30 September

Life, energy, perceptions but too often those words need to be corralled.If ever a Shakespeare play were better honoured in the breach than the observance, it's this. What sort of hero is Romeo all that sighing and love, stupidity when his friend's fighting, followed by a flash of Renaissance-man swordsmanship. Then the plot loses him; he's seen only buying poison, and impetuously flinging himself on his supposed-dead beloved with a sentimental death-line before expiring with the one poison in Renaissance drama that doesn't also kill anyone he kisses.

Andrew Garfield's Romeo starts well: studiously gloomy, attempting to write feelings down, with adolescent awkwardness in movement and expression. But the later scenes are often reduced to shouting and expostulation; few actors today seem able to manage Shakespearean verse with the volume turned up.

Juliet's more interesting. Gugu Mbatha-Raw has energy, initiative and verve, plus tactful reserve with her parents, but also tends to lose vocal control. This is the sole failing in Jacob Murray's otherwise alert production in-the-round, which rightly places the bed (when needed) at its centre.

Murray opens with an image of ordered religious observance, the lovers kneeling before Friar Laurence at their wedding, other characters lining the sides. It's an image that fits the statue of the Virgin standing constantly by as events unfold. John Watts' Laurence is a benign cleric who sees God's order in herbal properties yet has a temper. His is also one of the best-spoken performances.

Yet, no sooner has the Friar spoken the Prologue, than disruption breaks out. As with individual performances, it's the high-emotion moments that go awry, the multiple grieving round the supposed-dead Juliet's bed a particularly rough moment. But there are virtues Maggie McCarthy doesn't overdo the Nurse's volubility (this is Shakespeare, not Dickens), Pooky Quesnel is an assured social being, Paul Herzberg a Capulet used to getting his own way, Andrew Buchan a clear. Mercutio, soon angered at his injury. Fittingly for parents of young teenagers, Montagues and Capulets are plenty young enough to have a big investment in society and their own futures.

So, a production with plenty to offer, though sorely needing more work on speaking Shakespeare's language.

Mercutio: Andrew Buchan
Abraham/Friar John/1st Watch: Kieran Cunningham
Prince Escalus: Michael Fenner
Sampson: Sartaj Garewal
Romeo: Andrew Garfield
Lord Capulet: Paul Herzberg
Peter/Gregory: Paul Hine
Lord Montague/Apothecary: Gordon Langford-Rowe
Juliet: Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Nurse/Lady Montague: Maggie McCarthy
Lady Capulet: Pooky Quesnel
Benvolio: Avin Shah
Tybalt: Faz Singhateh
Balthasdar: Ben Sutherland
Paris: Joseph Thonmpson
Friar Laurence: John Watts

Director: Jacob Murray
Designer: Ellen Cairns
Lighting: Jason Taylor
Sound/Music: Adam Cork
Choreographer: Shobna Gulati
Fights: Malcolm Ranson

2005-10-03 11:40:22