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This Is Not Romeo and Juliet

 
Stephanie Green Review by Stephanie Green 4 Published: 15 Aug 2024 Zoo Southside Show Dates: 13 Aug 2024-18 Aug 2024

Not to be missed, hugely inventive, an extraordinary show, This is Not Romeo and Juliet choreographed by Danish Palle Granhøj is experimental but with broad appeal.

Does it work? A resounding Yes

Possibly tongue in cheek humour, a character runs across stage nude shouting ‘Juliet’, then later adding clothes bit by bit. It is indeed not Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet but of course, there are references everywhere: three couples are all called Romeo and Juliet, and the music is all excerpts from pieces entitled Romeo and Juliet (or Juliette) by Gounod, Berlioz, Mancini, Nino Rota’s Zeffirelli’s film, Ravel, Vasks and by the two musicians on stage, Dalia Dedinskaite and Gleb Pysniak.

Set in war-time, (unlike Shakespeare, not warring families but countries), this is not explicitly referenced until the end, but the maelstrom of heightened tensions and rule-bending sexual relationships typical of such times is explored.

A mature couple, Sofia Pintzou and Marius Pinigis, are in yer face, expressing the full range from neurotic insecurities to passionate attraction, the female literally leaping onto her partner followed by simulated aggressive sex. The younger pair, Dominyka Markeviciute and Povilas Jurgaitis, by contrast are more reminiscent of Shakespeare, sensitive, hesitant and romantic. The two musicians plant a delicate kiss on each other, whilst moving across stage continuing to play. As the show progresses, there are unexpected developments of character or changing partners, a LGBTQ aspect perhaps, though it might just be brotherly or sisterly affection, it is up to you the audience.

The unusual choreography, baffling at first, then more and more convincing, is the result of Granhøj’s ‘Obstruction Technique’ a development of Nancy Spanier’s. A dancer’s movement impeded by another dancer tries to continue with the first movement, now transformed in fascinating ways. This might be caused by something as simple as a kiss where glued mouth to mouth they continue to dance around the stage. There is no need to have a scholar’s grasp of the technique to appreciate it. The point is this show. Does it work? A resounding Yes. It can be delightfully amusing, but at other times the original angles and contortions reveal deep psychological insights which get under one’s skin and enter one’s psyche.

At the very end shots are fired and each of the performers in turn falls down dead. It seemed rather cheap, which spoilt – for me – an otherwise outstanding show.

Amir Nisi

Stephanie Green

Stephanie Green has reviewed Theatre and Dance in Edinburgh since 2011 but previously travelled widely, mainly in Eastern Europe and Russia, writing about puppetry. She also studied shadow puppetry and sacred dance in Bali. In the 1970s, she trained as a puppeteer at the Little Angel, London and later worked at the alternative In the Heart of the Beast Mask and Puppet Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. After training at the Place, the London School of Contemporary Dance, in her 20s she then gave up dancing until starting again in her 60s just for fun. She has recently danced in a community group with Barrowland Ballet (at the Edinburgh Fringe, 2013), Oceanallover and at the South Bank, London as part of the Festival of the Silver Age. She is also a novelist, playwright and poet. www.stephaniegreen.org.uk/

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Powerful performance exploring love in times of war in Europe, transcending Romeo and Juliet's classic narrative, offering an enriched perspective and examining the complexity of human relationships. Featuring three loving couples in diverse stages of life, displaying the artistry of four terrific dancers and two outstanding musicians. At the heart of the performance lies the music, a dynamic blend and live execution of motifs drawn from prominent compositions associated with the story. Featuring works by Prokofiev, Mancini and Gounod, the music underlines the universal theme of profound love and the cruel intrusion of death.
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