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REVIEW | Romeo and Juliet, Wilton's Music Hall
- Harry Brogan
- Jun 13
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 25
AD | Tickets gifted in exchange of an honest review
In a world full of ultra-modernised, bare setted and celebrity starring adaptations of Shakespeare, there’s something refreshing about Flabbergast’s take on the classic ‘Romeo & Juliet’, directed by Henry Maynard, playing at Wilton's Music Hall. It feels partly reminiscent of how the bard would’ve staged his own work in the 1500’s, and there is something comforting in that portrayal of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ that definitely holds up today.
To describe the vibe of this version - I would class it as somewhere between ‘Post-punk futurism’ & ‘Medieval Post-Apocalyptic’ (hopefully that paints a clear enough picture for you). Maynard’s set is bare; a tower in the middle of the stage built from obvious stage rigging, ornaments hung across it and tinsel draping down its exterior. There is a beauty in this simplicity - Flabbergast are a company known for not hiding the fact we are watching performers on stage, and the set definitely aids this intention in a strangely beautiful way.
This is furthered by the way the actors are treated as ‘set’, painted in stark white makeup and always on stage watching the action in true Commedia Dell’arte fashion. In fact, Flabbergast as a company draw a lot of their inspirations from European theatre practises, such as Commedia or the work of practitioners like Grotowski, and that influence is clear in this adaptation, where a combination of mask, mime, clown and music is used to tell this age old love story.
Movement (by Movement Consultant Matej Matejka) is a key feature of Flabbergast’s work, and it is shown here in how the performers move on stage. The performers dart and dance across the stage in scenes, often falling and repeating movements in ways that feel abstract, but are rooted in the truth of the scene. Some characters pull this technique off better than others; a stand out for me was Simon Gleave’s portrayal of ‘Mercutio’. Gleave, who obviously has a fair amount of dance training, seamlessly blends this movement style with the character, creating a somewhat insane, camp & endlessly entertaining performance where he runs circles around his scene partners, but always manages to root it in the character and the story.
Another stand out was Daniel Chrisotomou’s performance of ‘Friar Lawrence/Peter’ - two very different roles but delivered with full commitment. Chrisotomou’s ‘Friar’ was surprisingly funny, and yet rooted in emotion whilst ‘Peter’ was an incredible showing of clown & mask work, always getting the laughs and stealing scenes that he was stood in the back for; possibly my favourite part of the entire show was watching ‘Peter’ when I wasn’t supposed to.
The titular pair; Romeo & Juliet, played by Kyll Thomas-Cole & Lennie Longworth, also give good performances, but were a little outshined by some of their supporting cast in their scenes. This wasn’t helped by the fact that occasionally their direction felt more like a ‘rehearsal technique’ than a performance one, and sometimes wished they would’ve just committed a bit more to acting the Shakespeare and telling the story.
Most of Maynard’s direction and vision for this show I really love. Maynard's attention and commitment to bringing old traditions back to modern theatre I especially connected with - the show is at its best when it embraces live acoustic music & sounds, clown and commitment to telling this story to the audience. However, there are moments where the style seems to feel confused - I cite the electronic dance segment of the mask party where Romeo meets Juliet as the part I felt most confused about what world we were playing in, and wished that he stuck to that initial vision of traditional techniques brought into the mainstream.
Overall, I really admire Flabbergast’s commitment to tradition, and it feels surprisingly new and innovative in a world that is drenched in over stylised, pretentious adaptations. It feels good to go back to the roots of what theatre is; a group of performers trying to tell the audience a story. If you’re fed up with modern theatre, and want something that feels different, emotional and highly entertaining, I recommend taking a trip to see Flabbergast's Romeo & Juliet - I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
★★★★
Romeo and Juliet plays at Wilton's Music Hall until 21st of June.
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