Chelmsford Theatre Workshop at the Old Court
24.02.10
An exciting and imaginative production from Beth Walters and her company.
What a triumph to get so many talented youngsters onto the Old Court stage.
Graffiti over the auditorium, Prokofiev fighting a losing battle with Punk on the soundtrack.
The paparazzo prologue [Barry Taylor] captures it all on camera, the first kiss, the brawls and the ball – he's even flashing away behind the Queen Mab speech [Charles Allenby a physically impressive Mercutio].
Paris has an elegant PA for a page [Kelly McGibney, also assaulted, not for the first time, at the top of the show in a messily violent rumble], Stanley knives and chains are the weapons of choice, Lady Capulet, the excellent Emma Moriaty, is always elegant, and uses her daughter's wedding as an excuse to shop …
Lois Jeary, in a welcome return to CTW, is a teenage Juliet, giggly, flirty, moody - “sixteen”, for some reason in this reading. She also masters the sound and the sense of Shakespeare's verse, not always a strong point of this production. Dave Hawkes [another welcome comeback] also speaks Montague with real style and understanding. Harry Sabbarton is a cherubic Romeo, red of hose and hair, and makes another convincing teen, but tended to lose some of his words upstage or to the floor.
I was also impressed with Tony Ellis's Tybalt, and Dan Ford, touching in the last Act as Romeo's man, Balthasar.
The small stage is effectively used - I liked the bed/bier, the use of the gauze. The “death” of Juliet is very skilfully done.
A pacy, robust production, confident in its own style. You should see it if you can – still tickets left, from the Civic Theatre Box Office.
Jim Hutchon was there on the first night for the Chelmsford Weekly News:
For her début as a director, Beth Walters could have chosen a less demanding project. That she pulled it off in spades is a testament to her imagination, along with her assistant director Sara Nower, and the skill, commitment and sheer hard work of a large and predominantly young cast. Although the costumes were a weird modern mix of punk and rock and Italian suits, the language was wisely maintained in the original.
Billed with the announcement that “This is not a love story” – which it is – the director managed to achieve a better balance between the antics of the star-crossed lovers and the rest of the action, which made for a more rounded and satisfying performance.
Key plaudits must go to Lois Jeary as a school-girly Juliet, who made the part her own and used the archaic language as if it were normal speech. Harry Sabberton as a punk Romeo was equally articulate and highly energetic, though some of his inward-looking soliloquies were barely audible. Simon Thomas as Lord Capulet was impressive, especially when angered, and Lynne Foster as Juliet’s nurse and confidant kept up a supportive and entertaining presence throughout. In fact, there were few weaknesses other than a certain loss of language rhythm among any of the cast, and the characters were all solidly introduced and maintained.
A small caveat was the lack of much sense of time or location. To fit in all the action, the author sets scenes at strange times of day, night and dawn, and emphasising them with appropriate lighting would have helped the story along. Equally, the commendably minimal set had to double for a number of locations, and, I felt, lost some of the atmosphere in the process.
This production runs into a second week, from 3rd to 6th March, and is one of CTW’s must-see productions.
photo by Tony Ellis
For her début as a director, Beth Walters could have chosen a less demanding project. That she pulled it off in spades is a testament to her imagination, along with her assistant director Sara Nower, and the skill, commitment and sheer hard work of a large and predominantly young cast. Although the costumes were a weird modern mix of punk and rock and Italian suits, the language was wisely maintained in the original.
Billed with the announcement that “This is not a love story” – which it is – the director managed to achieve a better balance between the antics of the star-crossed lovers and the rest of the action, which made for a more rounded and satisfying performance.
Key plaudits must go to Lois Jeary as a school-girly Juliet, who made the part her own and used the archaic language as if it were normal speech. Harry Sabberton as a punk Romeo was equally articulate and highly energetic, though some of his inward-looking soliloquies were barely audible. Simon Thomas as Lord Capulet was impressive, especially when angered, and Lynne Foster as Juliet’s nurse and confidant kept up a supportive and entertaining presence throughout. In fact, there were few weaknesses other than a certain loss of language rhythm among any of the cast, and the characters were all solidly introduced and maintained.
A small caveat was the lack of much sense of time or location. To fit in all the action, the author sets scenes at strange times of day, night and dawn, and emphasising them with appropriate lighting would have helped the story along. Equally, the commendably minimal set had to double for a number of locations, and, I felt, lost some of the atmosphere in the process.
This production runs into a second week, from 3rd to 6th March, and is one of CTW’s must-see productions.
photo by Tony Ellis
1 comment:
I felt that the young man playing Tybalt was a plus for this production and should be commended on his ability
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