Romeo and Juliet review by Michael Phillips (From Somerset County Gazette)

Romeo and Juliet review by Michael Phillips

9:26am Monday 24th August 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share

FOR sheer vitality, versatility, energy, exuberance, and yes, panache, the Brewhouse Young Company’s performance of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was in a category all its own.

With barely a glance at Hollywood’s DiCaprio/Danes version, West Side Story, or the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love, this charismatic production was dynamic and captivating, and unfettered enough to take scenes out of the Brewhouse Theatre Auditorium bearpit and into the bar, backstage, and even onto to the riverside mall.

It was an extraordinary experience for the audience who moved with the action throughout, sometimes standing, sometimes sitting, sometimes parting for the next scene.

The anarchic, irreverent, even explosive tone was maintained throughout, in keeping with the nature of Elizabethan drama, and the narrative and dialogue rattled along from one outstanding set piece to the next – the Capulet ball, the balcony scene, the Mercutio/Tybalt/Romeo fight, the crypt.

The roughness around the edges, no doubt due to only a few weeks rehearsals, only improved the effect.

But it was the youthfulness of the cast which drove the production forward, giving it genuine edge and contemporary credibility. What a great evening’s entertainment.

And what a great band! Acting as backdrop and commentator to the action, the Ska-Cross’d Brothers flowed through covers from The Undertones, Joy Division, and others, to the atmospheric Ghost Town by The Specials.

Formed in 2000, The Brewhouse Young Company, comprises Somerset 15-25-year-olds of great gifting and ability. And they took their opportunity here to show it…with both hands.

Romeo and Juliet were played by Richard Fogwill and Zoe Tough, both interpreting huge parts for the audience, but there was also some great supporting talent – not least Adam Cridland’s Mercutio, Ben Miller as Lord Capulet, Jemima Colenso as Juliet’s Nurse, and Jamie Watson as Count Paris. In fairness the whole cast were exceptional, and Shakespeare’s own vision of the central characters being just a young teenagers themselves most certainly added to the realism.

Something special has to be said about the two performers fronting the band – Carl Bradley (Friar Laurence) and 15-year-old Sofia Harrington (Chorus). They effortlessly shifted between acting and singing throughout and both performances were a tour de force. Bring on the next production from this exciting and versatile theatre company!

• Print
• Email
• Share