Just when we thought we’d seen every possible interpretation of the world’s best known love story, along come Graeae, a leading promoter of deaf, disabled and neurodivergent talent, to really broaden our perspective on how to stage Shakespeare for the modern world. The cast is comprised of performers with varying types of disabilities, as well as two BSL interpreters, each individually introduced in a pre-prologue section that sets us up for their very own take on the tragic tale we all know and love.
Shakespeare North Playhouse has built a reputation for staging unique productions of the bard’s plays, and this is certainly no exception. One of the first things you notice is the four TV monitors that adorn the four corners of the first tier, as unlike with other productions that have limited dedicated access performances, this particular iteration has accessibility at its very heart; every single performance is signed, captioned, audio described and relaxed, exemplifying the notion that live theatre is for everyone, which simply has to be commended. The captions themselves are truly eye catching, often accompanied by fun animations to highlight key moments which, given the at times challenging nature of the works of the great bard, were a most welcome addition.
The big question is, in addition to being fully accessible and embracing real diversity, does this production hit the mark in terms of how well it conveys the story? The kindest compliment one can bestow is that this is a wonderful starting point, and there is plenty to be built on. Sadly, in terms of the directorial style, presented as a play within a play centred around prospective auditions for the play itself, this production suffers from being majorly disjointed, as too often the flow of the narrative is broken up with the various inter-cast banter, switching of roles, and disappointing tonal shifts that give a sense of it being confused as to its artistic identity.
Performances for the most part, it has to be said, were fairly unspectacular, and there was rather a lack of subtlety with many of the portrayals. There were, however, a number of standouts, with Reece Pantry always a dominant presence, showing some real quality acting across several different roles; Shreya M Patel was a constant delight, portraying both Lady Capulet, and more prevalently the titular Juliet, rather brilliantly. Romanian deaf actor Petre Dobre also deserves huge plaudits for his excellent acting through facial expression and sign language, often outshining his hearing counterpart as both titular roles were doubled up throughout.
Creatively, though it felt relatively stripped back, we were treated to some pretty solid lighting and sound design from Simisola Majekodunmi and Oliver Vibrans respectively, with the standing light bars a particularly intriguing piece of staging, as their various colour changes were used extremely effectively. Overall, there were individual elements of this production that worked very well, unfortunately the sum of its parts didn’t provide a great deal of artistic clarity. Thankfully, in spite of the directorial disharmony, the story was just about communicated effectively.
Romeo and Juliet runs at the Shakespeare North Playhouse until 5th October. For tickets and more information, you can follow the link here.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | photography by Patch Dolan
️️️
Commentaires