Romeo and Juliet
Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Reviewed on Friday 8th February 2013
"Set in the fraught days following the violent confrontation between Mods and Rocker crowds on the shores of Brighton in 1964, tensions between the children of two powerful families, the Montagues and the Capulets, are running high. In the midst of the conflict, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet's eyes meet for the first time; it is a glance that will not only radically change the course of their lives, but alter the face of Brighton forever."
This production of Romeo and Juliet starring Benjamin Ireland and Maya Thomas, transported me back in time, but not as far back as you might imagine. It opens in the early hours of the morning before the world wakes up, just as the night time people are going home. The set is almost dream-like in places. It’s the 1960s that I didn’t live through but I’ve imagined living in.
Rosalind Blessed who plays the Nurse and Alexander Neal playing Mercutio stole the show during the first act. I loved Rosalind's exaggerated actions which brought meaning to lines without the need to have trawled through a Romeo and Juliet study guide – a joy to understand a Shakespeare play as it happens, making it so much more accessible to many. Alexander Neal was 'suited and booted' as Mercutio. His quick wit and endless chat made him the “Jack-the-Lad” that I might expect to meet on a beach in Brighton in the 1960s! He gave a strong and, at times, humorous performance.
Following the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt (Adam Henderson Scott) the weaving together of two scenes – where Juliet finds out that her cousin Tybalt is dead, killed by Romeo who is banished, and where Romeo finds out he is to be banished for killing Tybalt - created an enormous amount of despair for this young couple’s disastrous start at married life. Their passion in their battle for love could be felt as they voiced their feelings from opposite sides of the stage. Benjamin Ireland gave a passionate portrayal of a young man caught in an unbearable situation.
Juliet was more of a background character in the first act but she stormed to steal the second act. The girl becomes a woman over the course of the play and, having skipped and danced her way through the first act, when she wept in the second act I felt her anguish at this impossible situation that she had been thrown into by her lover.
When Friar Lawrence, played by Liam Mulvey, delivered his rousing “Get up and get on with it Romeo, life’s not so bad really!” speech, for a moment I wanted to join in with “Yeah, are you a man or a mouse? Come on Romeo!”
I watched in fear for Juliet and her mother (Tabitha Becker Khan) as Capulet (David Vaughan Knight), Juliet’s father, raved at Juliet’s refusal to marry Paris. As he raised his fist, I could see a man on the brink of losing control of the big plans he had for his beloved daughter. I thought of the women and children who today live under such tyranny.
A fantastic interpretation of a classic story. If you want to watch a Shakespeare play that is an enjoyable experience and not a chore, this is one to see.
Please visit www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com for more information and to book tickets.
Please visit www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com for more information and to book tickets.
Reviewed by Paula Sheridan
Photo Credit: Adam Trigg
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