Tag Archives: Jamie-Rose Monk

“Romeo and Juliet” at Shakespeare’s Globe

Director Sean Holmes gives his version of Shakespeare’s tragedy a Wild West setting. And why not? The play has been put into so many different times and locations it’s hard to keep track. Most importantly, though, this is a sold production that leans into the venue’s strengths and unique atmosphere so that it is sure to please.

What does this nineteenth-century American location add? Well, let’s say it doesn’t take anything away. And it might convince more if the accents employed were consistent. But a culture of violence and rough justice map onto the plot well. It’s the close study of the script that’s the important thing.

The concept is embraced by the leads – Rawaed Asde and Lola Shalam – who are both strong. There is an appropriate emphasises on their youth. Asde is a puppyish figure full of energy and Juliet feisty but also confused. Both are a little, well, silly; it’s a fair interpretation, some of what these loved up teens say, even if great poetry, is hyperbolic. The performances are enjoyable throughout and it’s a nice touch that, in this production, the couple get the last lines.

The rest of the cast is, unfortunately, just a little uneven. Older characters are too easily lost, especially the Prince (cast as some kind of Sheriff). Some voices are lacking range and a couple of performers sound hoarse. This is a tough performance space physically; poor Benvolio (Roman Asde) seems to have a plane overhead every time he opens his mouth. Thankfully, Jamie-Rose Monk’s nurse is super and Michael Elcock’s crowd-pleasing Mercutio one of the best I’ve seen. Importantly, the whole cast work well with the audience – a key to success at the Globe.

Michael-Elcock-as-Mercutio-in-Romeo-and-Juliet-at-Shakespeare's-Globe-credit-Tristram-Kenton
Michael Elcock

Another highlight comes from Grant Olding’s work as composer. The mix of Americana adds to the atmosphere but never feels forced. Treating Shakespeare as your lyricist is surely intimidating but Olding makes light work of it. There’s a lot of singing and dancing all adding to a jolly feel. At least until just before the interval. The question arises – how does the humour fit with the tragedy?

It’s clear the tone of the piece needs to develop. And if there are still too many laughs for my liking, Holmes has the intriguing idea of introducing dreamlike elements. Aided again by Olding’s soundscape, a messenger to Romeo and the apothecary appear like somnambulists. In the tomb Juliet is joined by Mercutio, Tybalt and Paris (a good stage debut for Joe Reynolds) who move around in a trance and even line dance. It’s pretty creepy.

It’s a shame Friar Lawrence isn’t developed to play a part in these supernatural suggestions. But like the many dreams recounted, all the fear, blood and guts, and elaborate death throws make the violence nightmarish. The conceit might have problems, but it makes the play fresh and surprising. Introducing the unexpected into Romeo and Juliet is a big achievement.

Until 2 August 2025

www.shakespearesglobe.com

Photos by Tristram Kenton

"A Midsummer Night’s Dream" from NTLive

Filming theatre shows for broadcast in cinemas started during Nicholas Hytner’s time as artistic director at the National Theatre. So it’s appropriate that this resource, a defining feature of lockdown for theatregoers, visits and raises funds for Hytner’s new home, The Bridge Theatre.

As for the choice of show, this production of Shakespeare’s comedy, which won acclaim last summer, shows off Hytner’s directorial skills and his venue’s flexibility. It’s one of the best versions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream I’ve seen. And I even like the way its magnificent theatricality stubbornly refuses to be filmed.

Having small, movable stages and the audience standing in the stalls means the show is “immersive” – Hytner knows the term is a bit naff – with Bunny Christie’s brilliant design featuring beds that come up and down from the ceiling. And there are acrobats! David Moorst’s Puck is amazing to watch. Sometimes the film’s focus on performers’ faces is welcome, the crowd less distracting, and the joyousness Hytner instilled in the show is still present. But being in that crowd can’t be conveyed on a screen.

Fresh ideas and twists fill the play. There are small touches; a suggestion Hippolyta has a magical “power” over Hermia and making the ‘lion’ genuinely frightening (a great turn for Jamie-Rose Monk). Most noticeably is the change of gender over which fairy monarch is tricked – here Puck serves Titania (a wonderfully imperious Gwendoline Christie) to fool Oberon.

Oliver Chris’s Fairy King – who falls for the brilliantly funny Bottom of Hammed Animashaun – is magnificent. Their affair is sexy and funny and – evidence of how skilled both actors are – also moving. It leads to the best dad dancing I’ve seen and a promenade around the audience that is a real highlight. That Chris can get a laugh with the word ‘mulberries’ tells you all you need to know.

A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Bridge Theatre
The “crew of patches” led by Hammed Animashaun

The joke at the heart of the play can go wrong. But Hytner targets a toxic masculinity it feels good to laugh at. Oberon and Theseus, who Chris also plays and doesn’t slack at, are poked fun of for their (fragile) sense of power. Likewise, the Athenian lovers Demetrius and Lysander are also a source of humour with their young machismo. Magically, it makes all these sometimes boorish men more appealing. Similarly, the “crew of patches” performers are a joke but in a gentle fashion. With a finale where Animashaun commands the stage, there’s just a glimmer that their show within a show is serious! The joke is that Bottom is trying – he even bears in mind that his performance is in the round. Bless. Yes, it makes it funnier that he’s so bad – such delusion could only come in dream. But it gives the production a charm and energy that, by the end, make it feel like a party.

Available until Wednesday 1 July2020

To support, visit nationaltheatre.org.uk, https://bridgetheatre.co.uk

Production poster image by Perou, production photo by Manuel Harlan