Romeo and Juliet review: Fair Verona with Aperol spritz

ROMEO & JULIET

Lyric Theatre, Belfast

★★★☆☆

Fair Verona has the flavour of modern Milan in Philip Crawford’s new production of Romeo and Juliet for the Lyric Theatre, in Belfast. Robin Peoples’ set anchors us in a cool piazza in the centre of the city, where minor members of the Capulet clan sip garish glasses of Aperol spritz as digital advertisements for the fashion houses of Capulet and Montague scroll by in the background. Our hero, Romeo (Adam Gillian), is the cover star in the latest issue of GQ.

It would be easy for a Northern Irish production to hone in on the political parallels between Shakespeare’s tribal conflict and the country’s own sectarian history, but the focus here is centred on the impulsiveness of youth: the adolescent ability to commit wholeheartedly at first sight; the deeply felt heartbreak that precipitates the eponymous lovers’ suicide. Anne Bailie’s limber adaptation condenses Shakespeare’s original five-act script to foreground this narrative. In doing so she strips much of the power from the parallel parental storyline, ensuring our immersion in Verona’s youth culture. As a result, the pivotal scene in act 3 between Juliet (Emma Dougan) and her mother (Rosie McClelland) seems particularly explosive, recasting the drama as a conflict between generations as well as families.

[ The stage is (almost) set: Theatre coming our way in 2023 ]

Crawford has assembled a cast that blends experienced talent, like Laura Hughes’s memorable Nurse and Patrick Buchanan’s staid Lord Capulet, with newly trained actors. Many of the younger performers make their professional debuts here. Among them, Gillian as Romeo stands out, alongside his henchmen Mercutio (Thomas Finnegan) and Benvolio (Finnian Garbutt), who all display an easy fluency with the demands of the Elizabethan text. Their shared scenes are a highlight in the swiftly moving production, and excellent fight direction from Ian McCracken adds a genuine frisson to their encounters with their Capulet rivals.

These clear directorial decisions bring a fresh, contemporary edge to Crawford’s production, but they also cast this Romeo and Juliet as a tale for now rather than as a tale for all time.