Romeo and Juliet Review

“Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo?” declared a young Juliet Capulet, gazing out into the night sky from her bedroom window; her devotion and love poignantly evident as she yearned for a sighting of her newly-found sweetheart. It’s one of the most famous love scenes in English Literature, let alone the overall play by William Shakespeare. Yet Lucy Cuthbertson’s version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ takes on a much more challenging and somewhat more thought- provoking approach compared with the original. Think gang crime. Think teenage stabbings. Think heart-rending suicides. Where council estates separated rivals, hoodies on BMX’s circled the star-crossed lovers and longing hearts were as heavy as the hoop earrings.
So why adapt a play set in the 14th century and apply it to modern day? The audience of the Greenwich Theatre were certainly welcomed to grim and familiar scenes of rushing teenagers in tracksuits, whizzing BMX bikes, screams, physical abuse, and panic; whilst a memorial fence laced with flowers and photographs stood still and observant in the background. I for one were certainly hooked on this gripping and frantic opening, ignorant to the fact that this wasn’t the only source of difference and originality to be used in the play.
By modernising ‘Romeo and Juliet’ through costume, setting, and actions; Lucy Cuthbertson opened the eyes of teenagers to what is happening on our streets today. The whole performance succeeded to be a transfixing lesson (minus the classroom and lecturing teacher) and revealed to the audience how much danger these weapons and gangs can bring. Throughout the performance, no point was hidden or made unclear; otherwise, what would be the point? The real way to attract the attention of an audience is to be brutally obvious, so it is right there in front of them. Whether they like it or not, the message is getting through because they can’t drift off or draw up their own conclusions or interpretations.
For example, in the beginning of the performance, the stage was a concoction of youths punching and kicking teenagers of the similar age to the ground. At one point, Romeo and Juliet undressed at either side of the stage whilst getting ready for their wedding. Towards the end of the performance, a dismal and painfully manifest scene was created as the two lovers were zipped up in body bags and placed in the centre of the stage; following on from their heart-rending suicides.
One of the most effective points of the play for me was at the end, where we were shown the behaviour and reactions of the other characters regarding the tragic death of Romeo and Juliet. As in modern day, police officers arrived at the scene and the parents of the lovers broke down uncontrollably on discovering the tragedy. Because the performance was relevant to a 2009 South-Eastern London audience and the characters and actions were realistic and applied to modern day; I did not expect police tape to be wound round the stage during the scene of discovering the deaths, separating the actors and audience. Whereas some may say this was used to contribute to the dramatic scene, I felt that this caused the audience to become too closed off from what was happening.
The use of music also made a large impact on the performance. The traditional soundtrack of violins for this Shakespearean performance was demolished, and replaced with modern-day music to suit the theme and attract the members of the audience. It also contributed to the tension and emotions building up between the characters. For example, several times during the beginning of the performance; part of the song ‘4 Minutes’ by Madonna and Justin Timberlake was played as several of the characters prepared and got ready to go to the party held by the Capulet family. This increased the suspense as the song was about time and it was only a matter of short time before Romeo and Juliet would first meet.
Most of the relationships were believable, particularly Romeo and Juliet as between them there was a strong feel of chemistry and attraction that carried on throughout the performance until the very end. I didn’t especially believe the relationship between Romeo and Benvolio however, as Benvolio at times seemed to be in a completely different world; even in the beginning of the play he was on his own before getting attacked by a gang.
Overall, I felt the performance succeeded in bringing out a unique “voice”; that being a dramatic lesson in the danger of weapons and gangs, and showing how situations during Shakespearean time can still be easily applied to modern day. At the end of the play, the statement “put down your weapons” appeared on the screen in the back, acting like a reminder to the audience of the real intentions of this performance, and hopefully creating a large impact on their future lives.