Romeo & Juliet – Royal Exchange Theatre

In over 40 years of watching and reviewing theatre, I’ve seen a lot of Shakespeare, some very good, some indifferent and some very bad. The best productions manage to make even the most well known phrases in the canon sound both newly minted and instantly understandable, whilst giving the story a fresh context and relevance to the particular audience it seeks to entertain. The new production of Romeo & Juliet at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester does both of these and much more, ranking amongst the best I have seen in recent years at this lovely venue.

Director Nicholai la Barrie firmly embeds his tale of the ‘star crossed lovers’ in the inner city streets of Manchester, his Verona does not feature the palazzo’s and palaces of 16th century Italy instead it is the rain soaked streets of Cottonopolis that shape this story, this Verona is postcode M8. In lesser hands this could be (and has been) a wearisome trope, but Barrie masterfully invokes place and time with sublime touches not hammer blows, a simple yet evocation of our wonderful city in all its gritty glory. Each scene creates a memorable tableau, reminiscent of a painting by Edward Hopper or LS Lowry; pouring rain and black umbrellas abound at Juliet’s funeral, black clad mountain bike riding ‘apothecaries’ selling dubious substances, androgyny and Adidas abound; all modern Mancunian life is here.

Barrie has never directed in this difficult space before but takes to it like a duck to water, utilising the tight circle and proximity of the audience to excellent effect, the cast using them to intimately chat during soliloquy then becoming invited guests during the Act 1 Scene 5 party scene. The scenes are choreographed to perfection, the bare open design of GOOD TEETH allowing space for the actors to range, with a descending tower and a rising dais the only scenery required in addition to the circle of cracked black tile that forms the stage. Music in theatre production is often overlooked in review, and in addition to local favourites Elbow contributing to the soundtrack, Composer Mark Melville has created a haunting atmospheric musical score. Ever present throughout the performance it waxed and waned in volume and intensity, complimenting the speech and language without ever overpowering the scenes; a superb contribution.

Set against such stark modernism, you may expect Barrie to have made some concession to the complexity of Shakespeare, but his masterstroke was the decision to retain the original language. Hearing the speeches as written but in the idiom of Cheetham Hill and Salford allowed a freshness to permeate the production and each scene felt totally believable, the time the cast spent analysing the Elizabethan language was well spent with the imagery and allusion coming to life and conversation sounding immediately authentic. The supporting scenes particularly benefited from this naturalistic approach, both Mercutio (David Judge) and Tybalt (Ashley O’Brien) convinced as the alpha representatives of Montague and Capulet. throwing caustic insults before assaulting each other, with Judge able to playfully move into a camper sarcasm without losing his characters innate masculinity. The feeling of real people just talking was also present in the female characters, Nurse (Gemma Ryan) encapsulated the complicated place a long standing and trusted servant held in the household; a servant that was never servile, she was by turns, lazy, bawdy, feisty and funny and totally devoted to Juliet.

Our eponymous leading characters were portrayed with deceptively sublime simplicity, Juliet (Shalisha James-Davis) and Romeo (Conor Glean) both superb in leading the company. James-Davis developed Juliet as an independent minded 17-year-old girl, unafraid to bring her lover under her mother’s roof for an illicit sexual tryst, she dominated after the interval and brought genuine fire to a role that is sometimes neutered and made sexually ambivalent. Glean matched this raw appeal with a muscular Romeo, his ‘simian stroll’ replicating perfectly the swagger of a Mancunian street gang leader, sarcastically taunting his friends and enemies alike. However, Glean had more tools in his acting kitbag, the soft nature of Romeo being delicately portrayed, especially during the ‘Balcony scene’ which crackled with a combination of nascent sexual tension and innocent love, with Barrie cleverly subverting the traditional norms I have never seen this scene performed better.

This year represents the 400th anniversary of the first printed edition of Shakespeare’s collected works, a copy of which is currently on display at Shakespeare North in Prescot, it is wonderful to see that these works are still being translated to a modern audience in such a vibrant, relevant and above all accessible manner. Tonight, at the conclusion the packed press night audience rose to an uproarious ovation, crusty old bardolators standing alongside youthful students in rapturous acclaim for this remarkable production, a most fitting tribute in this anniversary year.

Verdict: Shakespeare’s love letter to Manchester. Accessible, vibrant and relevant. Superb.

Playing until 18th November.

Reviewer: Paul Wilcox

Reviewed: 25th October 2023

North West End UK Rating: