READING Repertory Theatre is back with a revival of Joel Calarco’s refreshing play, Shakespeare’s R&J, the first in the UK since the play debuted on the West End 20 years ago.
Directed by Paul Stacey, the production sees a queer reliving of the timeless love story in Romeo and Juliet as the play itself is discovered by four young prep school students.
The quartet begins to re-enact the classic play, but it quickly becomes more visceral as the events of Shakespeare’s tragedy come to pass in unexpected ways.
Elijah Ferriera returns to Reading Rep following his recent appearance as Young Scrooge in Beth Flintoff’s A Christmas Carol, taking the role of the student playing Romeo through most of the production.
Ferriera’s conviction as ‘Romeo’ remains defiant throughout, with the realisation of how deeply the events of Romeo and Juliet are affecting his own life as a student forming one of the focal points of the production.
His affection for ‘Juliet’ only grows as the play continues, and the notes of love-sickness and heartbreak in Ferriera’s portrayal never feel overplayed or too understated.
This is particularly true of the tender moments shared with ‘Juliet’, where the the love between the characters is confidently handled as the centrepiece of the story.
Brayden Emmanuel’s portrayal of ‘Juliet’ is similarly strong, but particularly so during the emotionally tumultuous scenes, where Emmanuel’s force and fire is on full display, and to great effect.
This is especially true of the closing moments of the production, where the source text falls away and the students are once again in the doldrums of real life.
Luke Daniels gives a strong performance as ‘Mercutio’, and his ease with the source material is clear, and his final scene as ‘Mercutio’ is suitably impactful without becoming (too) overblown.
Tom Sowinski is clearly equally comfortable with Shakespearean roles, as the role of ‘Nurse’– a touchstone in the playwright’s work– is portrayed with a judiciously-observed camp humour which doesn’t overshadow the drama.
In fact, Sowinski’s ‘Nurse’ brings some of the truly accessible comedic moments, which are admittedly scant in the play, and he shines through in much-needed moments of relief.
Together the cast is strong, with good chemistry and assured individual performances.
The production’s setting, while reasonably bare, is considered and well-constructed: a school quadrangle is raised below an imposing square frame, and detailed with excellently-observed wood panelling which will be familiar to many who’ve endured school halls.
The simple, though thoughtfully designed, set does what is needed for a stripped-back Shakespearean performance: it sets as much of the scene as is needed (often remarkably little) and leaves the actors to speak for themselves with only subtle enhancement.
Similarly lighting and sound are reasonably light in application, but impactful where the occasionally unclear character changes require some reinforcement– particularly in the booming voice of ‘Juliet’s father as he is introduced.
Overall, a strong cast leads the production with just the right vigour and energy needed to portray four impressionable students falling, almost literally, into the world of the play and coming out of it as changed individuals.
As a story of young people finding a world of modern meaning within Shakespeare’s works, the production stands firmly as a celebration of the enduring impact of some of our most venerated wordsmiths, but also as a rallying call for their relevance to modern audiences and modern theatre as a whole.
Shakespeare’s R&J runs at Reading Repertory Theatre, Kings Road to Saturday, November 4, including relaxed, accessible, and reduced-capacity performances.
Full details and access to tickets are available via: readingrep.com/shakespeares-rj
