Very occasionally, this production’s use of actors in multiple roles was momentarily confusing, especially as the costumes suggested a more egalitarian society than most stage versions of Romeo & Juliet – it is difficult, at face value, to tell servants from their masters as pretty much everyone has broadly similar attire. Perhaps only the Friar (Tarassh Mehrotra) is distinguishable by the cross he wears as a chain, although these days – this show has its cast dressed in contemporary casualwear – even this doesn’t necessarily mean its wearer is a person of the cloth.
Paris (Nuhazet Diaz Cano), perhaps in a nod to Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 motion picture, carries a gun rather than a sword. The other characters who are armed carry knives rather than swords, thus depriving the audience of sword fighting. There isn’t a Lord Capulet, such that Lady Capulet (Imogen Frances) is effectively a single mother to Juliet (Madison Grace), though the arrangement works, given the frequent presence of the Nurse (Jodie Micchiché). Capulet’s “Give me my long sword, ho!” is therefore excised, as is every other reference to swords, in what is an impressively consistent and thought-through dramaturgy. The show taps into the pertinent contemporary issue of knife crime, without being too didactic about it, with characters brandishing them with the kind of regularity that made it seem quite normal. This doesn’t diminish the impact of any of the tragedies, the production guiding the audience towards the idea of them being inevitable, as though asking them, “What did you expect would happen?”
Purists, nearly almost always rankled in any event, may not like the uneven commitment to maintaining the stresses of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter, let alone the inclusion of extracts from the back catalogues of Whitney Houston and Muse. And why was there a car on stage, especially if nobody was going to drive it?
To misquote a phrase from the beautiful game, this was a show of two halves. In the first, there was much in the way of humour and celebration, with almost all of the serious drama and tragedy spared for after the interval. Grace’s Juliet captured the teenager’s varied emotions perfectly – when Lady Capulet drops the news of a wedding date arranged for her, the impact of the announcement, and its implications, is immediate and palpable. Izzie Harding-Perrott’s Romeo, meanwhile, had a likeability about them that was sometimes coupled with being streetwise, and other times naïve.
An all-too-brief moment of actor-musicianship was encouraging to see, especially in a production that relies on a large ensemble comprised of young (that is, under 25s) performers drawn from the local community. The ‘balcony scene’ is done well, and the show maintains a relatively brisk pace. A copious amount of fake blood is used – strictly speaking, none of it was necessary as the dialogue could have spoken for itself, but it was all convincing and, in this production, adds to rather than detracts from the action. Less appealing to me was the swelling background music as a dramatic moment arrived – I think there would have been something rawer and more visceral about the anguish expressed by characters if it were unaccompanied.
But that is ultimately a negligible gripe in what was a fascinating portrayal of young love and family feuding, presented in a way that did not require any prior knowledge of the play to understand. Indeed, it would be better to put aside everything you already know about Romeo & Juliet and come to this production as blankly as you are able. An accessible, highly engaging and wonderfully perceptive show.
Review by Chris Omaweng
As Romeo and Juliet fall in love, defy their warring families and make their disastrous decision to escape together, the play powerfully brings home the inescapable truth that a peaceful world can only be achieved through compassion, love and understanding.
CAST
Romeo – Izzie Harding-Perrott (they/them)
Juliet – Madison Grace (she/her)
Prince & Paris – Nuhazet Diaz Cano (he/him)
Lady Capulet & Benvolio – Imogen Frances (they/she)
Mercutio & Friar – Taraash Mehrotra (he/him)
Nurse & Tybalt – Jodie Micchiché (she/her)
Ensemble – Caitlin Appleyard, Daisy Bevan, Azura Choi, Dorry Dong, Christiana Bingley, Ilinca Gheorgeasa, Amy Liz, Orla Duggan, Tabitha Star, Rosie Parker, Matilda Paul, Joshua Wallace and Morven Stephenson
CREATIVES
Director – Martin Berry (he/him)
Lighting Designer – Marcus Bartlett (he/him)
Fight Director – Maisie Carter
Sound Designer – Robin Colyer (he/him)
Producer – Cait Laws (she/her)
Community Producer – Grace Plant (she/her)
Set and Costume Designer – Fi Russell (she/her)
Choreographer – Maria Tarokh (she/her)
ROMEO & JULIET
Exeter Northcott Theatre
2 to 12 July 2025
