Romeo and Juliet

Progress Theatre returned to the glorious setting of the Reading Abbey ruins for another of Shakespeare’s most accessible and enjoyable plays, Romeo and Juliet.Despite the occasionally distracting background noises of Trains, Planes and Motorbikes, they again delivered a very high-quality show, extremely well-acted throughout the cast.

An outstanding feature of the production was the exquisite costumes with carefully chosen colours and styles that clearly defined class and social status and looked very well made and fitted. From the grandeur of Escalus, through the layered beauty of Juliet’s dress to the comical Nurse’s costume with accessories each was a perfect example of the Italian renaissance period.

A critical decision for the production was which part of the ruins to use for the staging and which for the auditorium seating spaces. The decision to put a large, erected stage along the long wall of the Dormitory to give more space for socially distanced seating bubbles meant that there was a very wide distance between the stage left and stage right entrances necessitating quite long carefully timed walks to reach the stages. The smaller area used stage right for Juliet’s room and Capulet’s monument worked much better giving an intimate more dramatic space with furniture and providing a more effective setting for the Balcony and Death scenes.

Congratulations on producing an excellent show in the most difficult of circumstances. It was very enjoyable to be part of a full safe feeling auditorium with a strong,well costumed cast, delivering Shakespeare’s prose and verse so clearly and engagingly.

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