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...