Romeo and Juliet

Synopsis

The story of frustrated young (illegally young in modern terms) love and death and the vendetta between two families in a tight-knit Italian community. One of Shakespeare's most popular and enduring dramas it has also been re-done as film, ballet, musical (most notably "West Side Story") and ice spectacular!

Our Review:

Roz Carter - 23 February 2012

When creating a modern version of a well loved classic such as Romeo and Juliet, theatre companies can easily show themselves up by trying too hard to be “down with the kids”. Luckily Headlong’s production of the tragic love story escapes this pitfall and wittily portrays the lives of teenagers without ever being patronising.

Helen Goddard’s innovative set cleverly shows the audience how quickly the events of the play unfurl and the use of a projected digital clock acts as a reminder of the tragic events to come. At times it does feel as though the company had pulled out a highlighter pen and scribbled on the script “This is a key moment!” through the use of rewinding snippets of action. Overall though, rather than becoming too obvious a device, it clearly demonstrates to the audience how the tiniest of details can change a person’s life.

But what of the star-crossed lovers themselves? Catrin Stewart’s naive and...

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Latest User Review

H Macgregor - 7 January 2013:

Imaginative and exciting, the major drawback was Daniel Boyd (Romeo), who seemed to have confused characterisation with fidgeting. If the former was lacking, the latter certainly was not. Danny Kirrane, excellent in Headlong's "Boys", was also disappointingly flat at times. But this was not a production to remember for its performances; it was visually engaging and genuinely original....

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