Romeo and Juliet Archives - North West End UK

Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet – Pleasance at EICC

10Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet – Pleasance at EICC

Two households, both alike in dignity In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unlean, And booze makes one of the lovers rather quite mean! Shit-faced Shakespeare are at it again, turning another Shakespeare classic into comedy gold as one of our leads is absolutely bladdered. We join a cast of incredible, traditionally trained actors as they put on a condensed version of the well known play Romeo and Juliet, or at least they attempt to do so. Each night a different cast member will increase the difficulty of both their job and their peers by getting drunk, and if the audience doesn’t think them drunk enough more alcohol will simply be provided leaving you with a version of Romeo and Juliet like y...

The Rubbish Shakespeare Company’s Romeo and Juliet – Liverpool Theatre Festival

28Jul

By Bev ClarkNo Comments

North West

The Rubbish Shakespeare Company’s Romeo and Juliet – Liverpool Theatre Festival

The theatre gods smiled on Liverpool’s Bombed Out Church this afternoon and kept the rain away for The Rubbish Shakespeare Company’s Romeo and Juliet. Three actors present this comic tomfoolery with plenty of physicality, energy, adlibs, bad wigs and a packet of sausage rolls. This immersive theatre relies heavily on audience participation and luckily there were lots of young people in the audience willing to get up and be part of the show, so us adults didn’t have to. Lee Hithersay, Alex MacDonald along with Thomas Galashan, who was making his debut this afternoon, showed that underneath all their clowning about and slapstick they can actually act. They are professions as Hithersay reminds us. This funny, accessible, hour-long show gives us the main gist and characters ...

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet – Lowry, Salford

13Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet – Lowry, Salford

“These violent delights have violent ends.” - Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 6. The delights of this ballet are not just violent, but they are plentiful and multifarious. How much did I love this show? Let me count the ways. On display tonight was artistry of the highest order. It was superb, sublime and even, perhaps, a tad spiritual. Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy is the ultimate play about love and death. His star-crossed lovers pay a fatal price for their desire. Sir Matthew Bourne, the director and choreographer, has created an adaptation of this drama that is at turns both intriguing and compelling. He takes it in a different direction but keeps the basic narrative intact. He uses Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet score but pares it down so it isn’t so bombastic and overwh...

Romeo and Juliet – Shakespeare North Playhouse

26Sep

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

Romeo and Juliet – Shakespeare North Playhouse

This was my second visit in a week to this newly built theatre in the heart of Prescot near Liverpool - so strong was the lure of having a theatre showing Shakespeare’s works in the Northwest of England. Having this auspicious opportunity to visit such a unique and inspiring building and to have these amazing plays on offer, at only a 20- minute drive away, was for me, as a theatre lover - a dream come true. The building of the Shakespeare North Playhouse was two major projects – firstly to build a theatre on the original site, where Richard Harrington constructed a theatre (1597-1603) to show the bards plays and secondly to build an outdoor arena in memory of Liverpool’s iconic comic genius Ken Dodd. Ken Dodd’s Memorial Gardens is set out with traditional stone steps that a...

Romeo and Juliet – Chester Grosvenor Park Outdoor Theatre

16Jul

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

Romeo and Juliet – Chester Grosvenor Park Outdoor Theatre

It’s not often that you feel transported to Italy in a park in Chester, but this year’s repertory theatre company has done just that with its new production of Romeo and Juliet. This is arguably Shakespeare’s most famous play: the story of two young lovers from different families, who meet by chance and are torn apart by family history and circumstance. The play asks us to consider whether love can overcome division, or whether forbidden love in a divided society is simply doomed. This new adaptation of Romeo and Juliet is set – the programme tells us – in the 1950s, albeit with the original text, and I was very interested to see how that would be incorporated into the production. However, I suspect because of the minimal set and the nature of the outdoor space, there was little other t...

19May

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

REVIEWS

Romeo and Juliet – Creation Theatre

I’ve written previously about the way theatre is having to adapt to the new socially-distanced normal and the creative ways that we’re seeing this being explored across the arts. Romeo and Juliet, presented by Creation Theatre in partnership with Watford Palace Theatre is the third online production I’ve reviewed for North West End UK, and the second of the Bard’s offerings in this format. Here, the virtual audience is able to engage with a unique presentation of this classic tale – first selecting whether they want to be a Capulet or a Montague and then to some extent choosing their own experience. With a mixture of pre-filmed scenes you as an audience member have choices to make throughout the show to see if you can help the star crossed lovers escape their tragic fate. It’s a novel t...

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre confirms title casting for Romeo and Juliet

10May

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre confirms title casting for Romeo and Juliet

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre have today confirmed the casting for the title roles in Romeo and Juliet, which opens the 2021 season on Thursday 17th June. Joel MacCormack and Isabel Adomakoh Young play Romeo and Juliet, in the production directed by Kimberley Sykes. Also released is the artwork for the production created by Feast Creative following their photoshoot in March 2020. Full casting to be announced in due course. Joel MacCormack (Romeo) recently played the role of John Jasper in BBC Radio 4’s dramatization of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. On stage he won the UK Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Play for Each His Own Wilderness (Orange Tree). Other credits include: Describe the Night (Hampstead), The Oresteia (Shakespeare’s Globe), Safe House (ITV), and film credits ...

Romeo and Juliet – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

18Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Romeo and Juliet – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

"We are two worlds apart." Joseph Meighan's melding of 1990s pop culture with the 16th century tale of two tragic young lovers is a bold and innovative take on what is probably Shakespeare's best-known play. As with much of Shakespeare's work, the story of Romeo and Juliet is timelessly malleable and has been retold in countless formats, including as musicals, opera and on film, since it was written in around 1595. It has been set in any number of time periods and situations with the deep-seated hatred between the Montague and Capulet families reflecting every conflict throughout history, as the cast movingly reference at the end of the play. Everyone knows the plot: Romeo, a Montague, sneaks into a Capulet masked ball and it's love at first sight when he sees the young and bea...

12Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Romeo & Juliet Online

With the national lockdown still upon us and theatres remaining closed, Metcalfe Gordon Productions has found a way around the restrictions with their virtual adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragic love story, Romeo and Juliet. Directed by Nick Evans, the show is set in the aftermath of the pandemic, in a world where the population has taken refuge in empty theatres. With current restrictions, CGI was used to create the virtual theatre setting, with the scenes taking place in all aspects of the venue, from the stalls to backstage, it certainly took some getting used to. After being away from a theatre for so long, I enjoyed being reacquainted with the place I’ve missed. The clever CGI set by Jamie Osbourne effectively gave the illusion of the characters interacting with each other whi...

12Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Romeo and Juliet – The Royal Ballet

I have a confession to make. Before today I had never watched a ballet in full. Sure, I had seen clips, and as a dancer myself (although clearly not a classical one) I’ve seen many contemporary productions, but never a ballet. Such is the benefit of companies such as The Royal Opera House streaming past productions online – you can give yourself new experiences from the comfort of your own home. Despite me knowing nothing about ballet, I am however much more experienced in the works of the Bard and have played Juliet myself on several occasions. For this reason, I found the story very easy to follow, and could clearly identify who each of the characters were. As in many of Shakespeare’s plays, the female characters are few and far between, but in this production the women were given mor...