Romeo & Juliet (Sherman Cyrmu)

During the interval of Sherman Cymru’s Romeo and Juliet one audience member perfectly summed up the production – "It’s like Gavin and Stacey meets West Side Story".

The production is modern but timeless, with an inner-city set, costumes from the last few decades and accents from around the UK. The modern music is trying a little too hard to appeal to younger audiences, as are all the skinny jeans. Still there is something really appealing about the modern character portrayals and dark aesthetic.

There are moments of brilliance. The set movement pieces at the Capulet’s party are full of detail and add a fascinating disjointed feel to proceedings. The final scenes in the beautifully designed crypt (in the orchestra pit) are distressing and emotional, made more powerful by the ever present bloody shroud of Tybalt.

The two young leads are always difficult roles play. Chris Gordon, making his stage debut as Romeo, is a real find. His transformation from the moody youth of early scenes, to a joyfully love-struck young man is truly engaging and his final scenes are heartbreaking and honest. Sophie Melville also breathes new life into the 13-year-old bride, Juliet. With her peroxide pixie cut and boyish style she is completely relatable to a modern audience. Her valleys lilt, is at first, whiny, making her seem brattish and quite frankly annoying. But in the second act her words have more clarity than any other cast member meaning her monologues are intelligently delivered and have real power.

With a double suicide and four other bodies piling up it’s not the lightest of plays. Much needed comedic relief comes in the form of the Capulet’s staff. Tony Flynn was a one man tour-de-force successfully multi-roling the opening narrator, the Prince, the apothecary and the wonderfully camp manservant Peter. Anita Reynolds‘ portrayal of Juliet’s Nurse got most of the giggles as she strutted around the stage in a pink velour track suit and dramatic hair piece, uttering the Shakespearean words in a heavy Jamaican accent. Sadly this humour came to overshadow some of the more intense scenes, particularly annoying when entrances or exits upstaged the real action.

Completely enjoyable but there’s something missing, there’s no fire in the passion between the young lovers, there’s no punch in the hatred between the two clans. Every actor was engaging but there seemed to be a lack of unity in the cast as a whole.
An interesting and relevant take on a classic, worth seeing especially if you are new to Shakespeare and want an accessible way to experience the words of the Bard.