Romeo and Juliet (review)

The black polished surface of the Octagon Theatre stage floor glistened like a dark skating rink in the minutes before the show began, tempting onlookers onto its surface to slide around on it (although naturally no one did). In these days of austerity, with the Arts Council budget slashed by the Coalition government's belt-tightening and theatres nationwide threatened with closure, Ruari Murchison's spare design was dominated by a metal balcony. This protruded above one of the theatre's three vom entrances, near the center of one of its main walls. The action was often played on the bare stage, with a few locales suggested by pieces of furniture and character costuming. Surrounded by an audience on all sides, the playing space was also small and the stage rarely accommodated more than four actors at a time.

Romeo and Juliet performed the Prologue, sharing its lines evenly, before leaving the stage and making way for Sampson and Gregory. Both wore jeans and soccer jerseys, with Sampson's noticeably that of Manchester City FC, one of the Premier League clubs in the Greater Manchester area. Their costumes were completed by the baseball caps each man had perched on their heads; Sampson (in a visual mix of sporting signifiers) was also carrying a baseball bat—an inkling of the character's violent intentions. Sampson spoke in an east London accent and both he and Gregory walked with the male swagger often seen in large metropolitan areas. Thacker's staging of the opening scene had visually translated the Italian "bite your thumb" gesture into its English football hooligan equivalent.

Using the images of a particular type of masculinity the opening signaled the production's intention to portray a patriarchal world where violence was commonplace. The scenographic use of this aspect of football culture also signified a "laddish" world where sexual comments were rife and women unwelcome. These signifiers were reinforced by some performance choices made by Kieran Hill and Rob Edwards, as both exhibited their laddish sides. In the Queen Mab speech, as Hill uttered "This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs, / That presses them and learns them first to bear," he poked emphatically at the ground, suggesting a man bending over a woman, subjecting her to a brutal form of sex that is solely about possession and property. Similarly, in discussing his daughter with Paris, Edwards chose to emphasize "fresh, female buds" (1.2.29-changed from "fennel")—with an accompanying lewd gesture. This choice also reflected the overriding patriarchal attitude toward women by the men in the play.

Rob Edwards as Capulet in the Octagon Theatre's 2011 production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by David Thacker. Photo courtesy of Ian Tilton.

The relationship between the Capulets was the thematic centerpiece of Thacker's production, with staging and textual cuts (almost undoubtedly due to budgetary constraints) emphasizing Juliet's family. For example, the two serving men who confront Sampson and Gregory were excised from the text and Abraham's lines were given to Tybalt. The crowd scene that follows Tybalt's challenge was also pared down to accommodate the size of the stage. Lady Capulet was removed entirely from the action (and Lady Montague from the production) and a blackout-facilitated transition separated the fight from the Duke's punishment. These choices minimized the necessity for a large cast while focusing attention on the Capulets.

Lady Capulet first appeared in a silk dressing gown, wearing stiletto heels and drinking from a champagne flute at...