Time is important in Romeo and Juliet. The tragedy flows from events and misunderstandings driven by haste and impatience: Romeo rushes into marriage to Juliet, Tybalt will not wait to hear Romeo’s reasons for refusing to fight, Capulet will not postpone Juliet’s wedding with Paris, Friar Laurence’s explanatory letter is delayed and Juliet awakes moments too late to prevent Romeo’s death. Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast. is Friar Laurence’s prophetic warning to Romeo.
Timothy Sheader’s brilliant production at the Open Air Theatre is paced accordingly: scenes sequential on paper are simultaneously staged with the lines interspersed; a device called ‘cross cutting’ in screen adaptations. Sheader has also made judicious cuts to Acts 4 and 5 which add to the onrushing inevitability of the play’s bloody climax as night falls on Regents Park after the interval.
A scaffold on the circular stage is Juliet’s balcony while cast and costumes amply supply the absence of any other set in a Verona that looks like Buenos Aires in the early 20th century. The fight scenes, so cleverly choreographed by Liam Steel, are wonderful to watch and it is a genuine shock when they lead to the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt in a manner which could not be more topical in the week of Ben Kinsella’s murder.
Oscar Pearce is a tireless, extraordinarily mobile Mercutio and he and Nicholas Shaw’s charismatic Romeo succeed in rendering the now almost impenetrable punning in their 400 year old dialogue as the preening self-assured banter of two very modern men. Claire Benedict makes the most of the Nurse and Tim Woodward is a crusty, cantankerous Capulet. Laura Donnelly is flawless as Juliet: it is rare to see someone young enough to pass for 14 give such a polished performance.
Hurry to www.openairtheatre.org and book tickets quickly. It closes on 2nd August.
