Romeo and Juliet - Graeae Review

Reviewed by Jess Boot-Cowie

Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review.

Graeae’s Romeo and Juliet is a co-production with the Shakespeare North Playhouse, where the production makes its first home. It’s based around a group of actors in a waiting room for an audition – for what, we aren’t entirely sure – and a script for the seminal Shakespeare text falls, quite literally, from the ceiling. What else is there to do, than to stage the text?

Shreya M Patel and Ciaran Forrest. Photo by Patch Dolan

The strengths of the show lie absolutely with the cast. Two pairs play the titular characters, and lines are delivered by one pair in spoken English and the other in BSL. It is here where director Jenny Sealey’s ingenuity and skill shines through: the pairs are in perfect sync, they move fluidly and as one, and you at times forget that there are four people on stage and not one. The same can be said for the integrated interpretation provided by Craig Painting and Irmina St Cathrine. Painting is at times so in tune with Petre Dobre that they seem to almost be one person, and the two of them have a captivating stage presence. The same can be said for Reece Pantry’s comedic timing and energy which the whole cast seems to bounce off. 

Of course, with a cast of ten, it is natural that the objectively small stage of the Playhouse does at times feel very crowded. There are no real costumes, and when Tybalt, Mercutio and Benvolio are fighting, it is hard to keep track of who is playing who, especially as there are multiple people playing some characters. However, this is not huge issue if you know the text, and if you don’t, there’s enough energy on stage that you almost have to just shrug and keep going. 

In a show with very minimal set, it must be acknowledged that Christopher Harrisson’s creative captions are ingenious – the use of traditional captioning that are becoming more commonly seen in theatres across the country are intertwined with animations and colour, making Shakespeare’s heavy language more colourful. The music that interweaves through the show is visually represented here – and Oliver Vibrans’ sound design is stunning, the music weaving through the text subtly and yet to great effect. 

Irmina St Catherine and Cherie Gordon. Photo by Patch Dolan

Due to the number of bodies on stage, it is possible to argue that, if you have an understanding of Romeo and Juliet as a play, that the production is more successful than it would be to the uninitiated. However, it is impossible to argue with the sheer cohesiveness of the cast, the skill of their performance that they have woven together. It is seamless.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Romeo and Juliet plays at Shakespeare North Playhouse until Saturday 5th October 2024. It then transfers to Theatre By The Lake from Saturday 12th until Saturday 26th October 2024. For tickets and more information visit https://graeae.org/event/romeo-and-juliet/