Romeo and Juliet – Sydney Theatre Co

Overview

Ah, Romeo and Juliet, the archetypal young lovers. We've all grown up with some version of their story. If you're lucky early Gen Y, it's the Baz Luhrmann film, though the late Gen Ys might not fare so well with the beige-looking soon-to-be-released update starring Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth. In the meantime/Instead of, see what the Sydney Theatre Company and director Kip Williams have done with the classic, packing a few surprises into their grand, visually striking production that looks closely at the Capulets.

It begins with a great music-video-like first scene that introduces the monumental, revolving set, which contains a ballroom with a vertiginous black exterior that's somehow equally striking. Inside, young men drink, dance, swing from chandeliers and tussle, but when that room twists away, we're left with just Romeo (Dylan Young), removed from the fray and all up in his head as he paces the streets.

Romeo, of course, is in love with love, and although at the moment the object is one Rosaline, she will soon be overtaken by Juliet, whom Romeo meets at a party. That party, and that girl, belongs to his family's "great enemy", the Capulets, and the couple's innocent infatuation leads to famously grave ends.

This Romeo and Juliet has some hits and some misses, but the misses are on the whole forgivable in such an ambitious and rich production. Importantly, this is a Romeo and Juliet that goes beyond archetypes to create a story that feels if not new, then fresh.

In particular, director Kip Williams and actor Eryn Jean Norvill have created a wonderful Juliet, who is not some blank slate but an anxious, awkward and slightly geeky specific teenage girl. Her love of wordplay shines strongly, and it makes sense that she would fall for Romeo, a guy who, at last, engages with her on her level. That said, Dylan Young as Romeo does little extra to draw her attraction, lacking charisma and compelling delivery.

In the supporting roles, Colin Moody and Anna Lise Phillips are the standouts as Juliet's parents, the monstrous Capulets. The energy spikes whenever they walk on the stage. Romeo's crass buddies on Team Montague, Mercutio (Eamon Farren) and Benvolio (Akos Armont), are a nice contrast, although Farren needs to be dialed down a little. We know Shakespeare's pretty words contain some ribald imagery; we don't need near-constant crotch-grabbing to remind us of it.

That set, by David Fleischer, is a real show-stopper (it, yes, literally stopped the show for five nights while they fixed the revolving mechanism). It's at its most stunning when creating something like the theatrical version of a tracking shot, although it's also a little overused — a five-degree turn creates a lot of interruption without much payoff.

There are also some gorgeous tableaux happening, including a creepy-glam party scene that's real Gossip Girl meets Eyes Wide Shut. Costumes are covetable, and the stripped-back post-intermission stage, based on the evolving image of Juliet's marital bed, is minimalism at its most purposeful and striking. This is one good-looking play.

Unfortunately, the second half does drag a little, weighed down by soliloquies that ultimately lead to an underwhelming, unedited version of the ending. But on the sum of its parts, this is a potent and enjoyable version of a classic that can always stand a re-watch.