15 year old Bethany Mee has been joining us at the Gatehouse Theatre for two weeks work experience from Sir Graham Balfor High School. After going to see Romeo and Juliet she wrote the following review for us...
"As soon as I heard that this year's Stafford Festival Shakespeare production was going to be Romeo and Juliet I wanted to go and watch it, and because I watched last year’s production of The Comedy of Errors and really enjoyed it, I was interested in watching another production at Stafford Castle.
This year’s production of Romeo and Juliet had a more modern twist on it and to me there was a sort of ‘gang war’ feel to the production, which was interesting to see. The costumes worn by the actors gave the impression that this production of Romeo and Juliet was set somewhere during the 1950s.
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| Copyright Darren Thomas |
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| Copyright Darren Thomas |
I think what made this production particularly enjoyable to me was the humour that was brought into it by hilarious performances from the characters of the Nurse and Mercutio, which gave the production a new edge.
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| Copyright Darren Thomas |
I also particularly liked the character of Tybalt, played in this performance by Dan de Cruz. Dressed all in black with slicked back hair, the character of Tybalt had a very sly and dangerous feel which worked well as the play built up to Tybalt’s final fight with Romeo.
Dwayne Walcott and Poppy Drayton's performances as Romeo and Juliet were confident and believable. There was real chemistry between the two actors and they showed the emotions of the characters really well, from the joy of their marriage to the heartbreak of their final scenes. From their performances I wouldn’t have thought that it was their first professional show.
I watched the production on two occasions, once at an afternoon matinee and once in the evening. To me, the evening performance was better, possibly because when I watched the afternoon performance it was pouring with rain! In the evening, with the stage lights visible in the dark, the performance seemed stronger overall, with the actors seeming even more passionate in the portrayals of their characters and the stars giving the show extra ambiance.
Overall I think that the performances I watched of Romeo and Juliet were a success, it was interesting all the way through and my eyes were glued to the stage. The actors gave confident and believable performances and I would definitely see it for a third time if I had to the chance. I would highly recommend going to see it"
