Review: ROMEO & JULIET, Duke of York’s Theatre - Jamie Lloyd Company
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
Everyone knows the story of the ill-fated star-crossed lovers, a love bridging two feuding factions. One of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, Romeo and Juliet, has been adapted time and time again over centuries but in a fresh production by recent award-winning director Jamie Lloyd, has the show benefited from a grittier pair of eyes?
Lloyd has become known for his stripped back productions and use of live camera to create a more cinematic theatrical experience. Romeo and Juliet uses these devices to great effect with onstage camera operators Callum Heinrich and Kody Mortimer smoothly gliding through the action, highlighting live moments that are projected onto areas of the stage and mixed in real time. The video design and cinematography, provided by Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, and accompanied by Ben and Max Ringham’s exceptional sound design, allows the blend of live theatre and live recorded media to be seamless. Lloyd uses the whole of the theatre from the basement, front of house and roof areas as a malleable canvas for the action in Verona to unfold in. The combination of heightened stage and subtle screen acting allows Lloyd to explore the more understated moments of love and pain within the piece, whilst also showing the intensity and volatility between the rival families. Throughout, the actors transition between handheld and head mics, with some scenes played out simply spoken into mounted microphones. What Lloyd does with this device is allow his company to bare everything with the inability to hide within the soundscape and display their connection through their voice. This also has the benefit of allowing us to appreciate the beauty of Shakespeare’s writing in its purest simplicity.
Stuart Burt had no mean feat assembling a cast as versed in screen as well as stage acting, but he is to be commended for smashing out this cast. The company of this production are an ensemble of exceptionally talented artists. Tom Holland and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers as the central lovers blaze through the text with visceral understanding and unwavering connection. Both find the comedy in the text which is so often overlooked in most productions of Romeo and Juliet, and this really lays the foundation for their powerhouse emotional moments. Freema Agyeman gives a hilarious and heartfelt turn as the nurse in start contrast to Tomiwa Edun’s stoic and acerbic Capulet. Joshua Alexander-Williams in his theatrical debut gives a memorable performance as Mercutio with a truly brutal and affecting death scene, whilst Michael Balogan gives a tender, but strong interpretation of Friar.
Jamie Lloyd Company associate artist Nima Taleghani, who gives a great turn as Romeo’s cousin Benvolio, has edited the text omitting Juliet’s mother and Romeo’s father which allows the nurse and Father Lawrence to take larger roles in their respective lives, which in turn opens up a conversation of chosen family whilst also editing moments to make it relevant today. The stripped back set and monochrome clothing by Soutra Gilmour emphasises the bleak world that Romeo and Juliet’s love is attempting thrive in. However, at times, the show, although a tragedy, can feel overwhelmingly bleak and makes it harder for the central love to shine through. Although still stated as being set in the 1500s, the modern aesthetic makes us realise how all too prevalent gang violence, and youth mental health are still a crisis today.
Jamie Lloyd has crafted a clever production that allows his cast to truly sink their teeth into a rich and sophisticated text. It’s just a shame that the dislocation of the final scene prevents us from truly feeling the gut-wrenching pain of these lovers losing each other in the final instant. This production may not be to everyone’s taste, but he’s made it accessible to a modern and younger audience. It just remains a shame that the ticket prices, Jamie Lloyd Company youth scheme aside, prevents the generation who really need to see this from seeing it.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Duncan Burt
Romeo & Juliet plays at the Duke of York’s Theatre until 3 August, with further info here.
