There are a number of things that make summer in Oxford complete. Pimms on the riverside, hoards of European kids outside McDonalds, and watching a production of Shakespeare in an Oxford college. And so it was off to the beautiful gardens of Trinity College to see Oxford Theatre Guild's production of Romeo and Juliet, which is running until the 26th July. The summer productions are normally the most familiar of Shakespeare's plays, allowing the audience an evening of relaxed pleasure following such a well known story. Romeo and Juliet is no different, covering the tragic love between feuding families (although at the end I always thought that the Friar gets off a little lightly, seeing as he seems to be the greatest meddler…). It is a nice touch that there is a detailed synopsis of the play in the program, too, to allow anyone to catch up with the story if the sometimes-unfamiliar linguistic style loses him/her briefly.

The production offers no radically new interpretations of the text; this is a good thing, as it allows us to settle in and enjoy the action. The first half of the performance is packed full of comedy, particularly the scenes where Romeo's friends taunt him relentlessly for his failed romances and melancholy. This contrasts well with the tragic episodes following the interval, which are played with the correct amount of gravity.

The cast are excellent, with notably strong support from James Reilly as Mercutio - he plays the comic scenes in the first half excellently, developing the text's innuendo and bawdiness to the great appreciation of the crowd. Margaret Bateman's Nurse is also magnificent; such is the enthusiasm with which she plays the part, that her manic first scene is almost disturbing. The leads themselves start a little weakly, but come into their own in the second half of the play. Oliver Baird plays a timid Romeo in the first half. This timidity is made more striking by the strong performances of his band of friends, Mercutio and Benvolio (Michael Ward) in particular. It is only in the second half where Romeo's fury and remorse become more extreme that Baird really enters the spirit of the character. Rosie Emanuel is suited to the role of Juliet, again in the second half playing out the tragedy extremely well. The confrontation with her parents when they instruct her to marry Paris is very moving. In their shared scenes they work well together; the balcony scene is played very confidently.

One thing that did grate was down to the crowd - it seemed that everyone around us had digital cameras, who seemingly spent more time taking photos of the action than actually watching the play - it would appear that for some people recording the event is more important than actually watching it. And most of the cameras seem to beep every time a shot is taken, which becomes as annoying as a mobile phone after the first hundred or so times… Such is the world of new technology I suppose!

The production is probably not the best production of Romeo and Juliet you will ever see (you can leave that to the professionals) - but it isn't the point of these summer productions to be groundbreaking. I was more than happy to be sat in a beautiful environment watching amateur actors put in a great performance of a wonderful play. There are more than enough original little segments and directions in this production to make it special.

Andy Cotgreave, 15.07.03