Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is arguably the most famous and well-known work of Shakespeare.  It follows the title characters who are on two sides of feuding families.  The path of their love is, of course, not smooth.  In their latest production, Wildflower Actors Society decided to set the production in the current day with the two families operating out of two different bars in the city of Verona.

The set was basic but worked well and split the stage into distinct areas to show the different parts of the city.  Lighting and sound were a challenge however.  Lights were not always focused in the correct places and on occasion, only half the characters in a particular part of the set could be seen.  The lack of microphones did mean that quieter portions of dialogue were often missed.  I appreciate the difficulties regarding venue size and budgets but I do think this production would have benefitted from a bit more lighting and better sound projection from some of the cast.

It is my opinion that the strength of a production as famous as this is heavily dependent on the strength of the main protagonists.  In this production, Gethin Glynn as Romeo and Beca Lees as Juliet worked very hard and for the most part delivered strong performances.  Gethin’s character was good, particularly in Romeo’s more anguished moments.  Beca gave a performance that grew throughout the production.  She had a very expressive face and really drew the audience in with a very emotional monologue.  I thought this was particularly good.  Personally, I wasn’t convinced that the pair were madly in love but they were good performances nonetheless.

Daniel De Gruchy entered the production as Friar Lawrence in very flamboyant fashion in a sequined dress and red wig and he gave a good performance throughout with a kind, gentle nature.

Brogan Rogers was excellent as Benvolio.  Crystal clear diction and a nice character meant she held the audience’s attention whenever she was on stage.  Brogan formed a good double act with Nuala Lomax who played Mercutio.  It is worth noting that Nuala was deputising in the role for a cast member who was unwell.  She used the script in hand for the most part but was still able to add good character and energy and for this, I send my congratulations. 

Lucie Lovering had a lovely character as the nurse.  The audience definitely could feel her kind and caring nature. 

Other named characters did a nice job and added something to the production.

Romeo and Juliet is a lengthy piece and it Is very important to keep the pace of action and dialogue up.  The pace did take a dip, particularly after the interval, and some members of the audience seemed to struggle with this.

Looking towards the future, I would really focus on diction and pace, to hold the audience’s attention and push the story on, especially if taking on the complicated works and language of Shakespeare that not all audiences are familiar with. 

As always, my comments are designed to give feedback and help societies improve and grow. 

Thank you Wildflower, for your hospitality and for a thought-provoking take on a classic piece of theatre.  I look forward to seeing what the future has in store.

 

The views in this report are solely of the author.

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