My heart usually sinks when I see the words ‘new interpretation’ or ‘re-imagined’ applied to productions of Shakespeare plays in Edinburgh. It is with both relief and some joy that I commend this shortened version of the world’s most famous love story as presented by the young students from Framlingham College.
The stage is dominated by a huge bed, which is used ingeniously, not only as a playing platform, but for inventive entrances, exits and reveals. Inventively, the play begins at the end, with the star-crossed lovers already dead (or asleep and dreaming, I wasn’t quite sure). They are then brought to life as human puppets so as to enact their tragic suicides. Thence we move back to the beginning of the play and follow the build up to the eventual marriage and the one night of love making Shakespeare allows this young pair.
In the hands of older students or adult professionals all the above may well have come across as pretentious. This company, however, are so committed to their version and it’s performed with such high octane energy and a slightly piss-taking wink to the audience (Mercutio is killed with a toy light sabre), that it’s impossible not to enjoy. There is some terrific physical work by the cast, both acrobatically on and around the bed, and in more symbolic dance routines. As one might expect with such young, untrained performers, the verse speaking wasn’t great, but they made up for it with commitment and passion.
When the end comes (after a pacey 50 minutes) it is a surprise – no mean feat with such a famous play. I do wonder, as always with severely cut versions of these great plays, how much an audience unfamiliar with the original will understand a new script like this. Tybalt’s ill-fated challenge to Romeo seems to come out of nowhere, and there is no mention at all of the ancient feud that means these two lovers are destined to end up dead. Indeed, without the presence of adult actors, or even young actors presenting adult characters, the play is robbed of one of its key dimensions. Although generally perceived as a tragic tale of young love, Romeo and Juliet is actually specifically about the power of young love played out against the background of an adult world laced with hatred and violence.
This performance is well worth the short trip into New Town, if only to marvel at the spirit and passion of young people that the play itself was written to celebrate over four hundred years ago.
