Queens College, Wed July 30th - Sat August 2nd 2008

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Andrew Bell July 31, 2008

The night I saw this, the threat of rain had changed the venue to St Columba's Church. Director and cast coped really well with the more cramped space (and intrusion of pulpit and altar!) and exits and entrances. The only unresolved issue was the sound system - the music for the Charleston at the Capulet's party bleated rather than boomed out.

Lucky Japan to receive in a fortnight's time this excellent production which moved at a good lick and was strongly cast. Tom Palmer as Romeo was slightly upstaged at the start by a bumptious Mercutio and Benvolio (Patrick Netherton made a great deal of the potentially dull latter in an intelligent, lively performance) but he and Corinne Sawers, appropriately looking about 14, seemed to find early marriage to be the making of them.

This Tybalt was a brooding, menacing figure and Lord Capulet was simply the best I've seen - a subtle mix of overweening authority and underlying paternal care.

A glorious warm summer’s evening and the Provost’s Garden at Queen’s College made a wonderful backdrop for the OUDS’ outdoor production of the world’s best-known, tragic love story: Romeo and Juliet.

To my surprise and initial scepticism, the play was set in the 1920s. However, my doubts were soon cast aside as the spirit of the ‘roaring twenties’ shone through - capturing the youth and passion of Shakespeare’s young characters. Tom Palmer and Corinne Sawers were extremely believable as the ill-fated lovers, showing ‘real’ chemistry, capturing the giddying feelings and dizzying excitement of falling in love. In fact, the use of the 1920s allowed the whole cast to shine, giving the entire play a sense of freshness and energy, and perhaps a little ‘kampness’! The era brought out the humorous elements of Shakespeare’s plot, and we were delighted with some wonderfully comic moments from Mercutio (Charles Reston) and Benvolio (Patrick Netherton) as well as period masked soiree - complete with dancing of the era - as Romeo and Juliet first met.

As the evening drew on the production’s clever planning became apparent - as the sun went down, the plot became darker and more chaotic. The effective use of spot lights and shadow visually enhancing the characters' grief and despair. The cast were equally brilliant in portraying tragedy, with some really powerful moments of emotion and anger - Mercuito’s death scene, (the famous ‘a plague on both your houses’) and Romeo and Juliet apparently seeing each other in death really standing out.

OUDS’ production of Shakespeare’s classic was exciting and engaging. The youthfulness brought by the jollity of 1920s and the cast's obvious passion gave Shakpeare’s characters a third dimension, a feeling of reality and a sense that they could exist in any time or place. The darker, more seriousness second half really showed the maturity of the cast and their understanding of their characters and the play. Despite knowing the outcome, the audience’s attention was hooked - some truly tense moments as the plot to reunite the separated lovers ended in tragedy.

OUDS’ production was outstanding - one of those magical nights when the cast really connected with both their characters and the audience. I left with an overriding feeling of ‘reality’, so convincing were their characters. One of the most engaging performances I have seen, OUDS really showed how wonderful Shakpeare’s works are when performed properly.

Vicky Hancock 30 Jul 2008

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