"Thus with a kiss I die."
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| The Globe flying the black flag (L) of tragedy for the "star-cross'd" lovers. The red flag on the right is the Globe standard and flies for every play; the left flag changes colour according to the play being performed: black for a tragedy, white for a comedy, red for a history |
Romeo and Juliet is performed by the same company doing Twelfth Night, but with the addition of women to the casting :) It was interesting seeing the Twelfth Night actors re-inventing themselves as Montagues and Capulets. I spent a long time wondering who Juliet's father reminded me of before realising that he was Maria from Twelfth Night!
It was another school matinee and the children seemed to enjoy it. Certainly they loved Romeo and Juliet's smooching!
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| "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" Juliet on her balcony yearns for her lover, to the great delight of her audience. |
The fight scenes were suitably exciting and vast quantities of fake blood were poured all over the stage (it had to be swabbed down at the end).
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| The rapier-and-dagger version of the haka |
Somehow, though, the "tale of woe" that is "Juliet and her Romeo" came across as more funny than woeful. In fact, with Romeo gyrating around the stage like the worst stereotype of a modern teenager, it felt as though they were actively trying to turn the play into a comedy. Perhaps this is unfair; playing on that huge stage and to three levels, tender looks and soft speeches just don't work. They would get lost in the space, so subtlety gets sacrificed in favour of boldness.
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| Tybalt's (R) bold swordsmanship could not save him from a gory death |
Also, they were playing to school children, who generally abhor "soppiness"; it would be interesting to see how they play the evening performances to an older audience, and how the comedic dynamics of the play shift.
Verdict? Not quite as good as Twelfth Night, but still definitely well worth a watch!
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