Romeo & Juliet - Western Morning News

Young lovers' chemistry ensures a production of authentic tragedy
Tuesday, June 08 2010
We've all seen actors and actresses old enough to know better concealing a paunch here or applying extra make-up there in an attempt to kid themselves — and their audiences — that they are still young enough to play Romeo and Juliet convincingly.

And while Bristol Old Vic may have made a virtue of septuagenarian "star-cross'd lovers" in its recent version of Shakespeare's most enduring tragedy, Cornwall's Miracle Theatre chose to play it as the writer intended.

Few Juliets in the history of the play can have been more lovely, delicate and yet eagerly passionate as Catherine Lake. Looking more mid-teens than the mid-20s she is, Catherine approaches her role with just the right balance of coy and comely. A regular member of Bottlefed Theatre, it is Miracle's gain to have signed her up for this 50-venue tour.

Her beau, Wesley Griffith, who was a graduate of Miracle's own youth group from the age of eight before going on to study at Guildford School of Acting, is an exciting new Cornish talent. And together he and Catherine forge an on-stage partnership which oozes sexual chemistry, giving the scenes of love an authentic tenderness.

Bill Scott, the company's founder and director, said he wanted to "play it straight" with this production — though Miracle's idea of straight is inevitably further from the conventional than other companies.

With outrageously liberated adaptations of such classics as The Taming Of The Shrew, The Time Machine, The Government Inspector, The Case of the Frightened Lady and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea under his belt, Bill has been remarkably restrained this time round.

Judiciously trimming and deflty editing, rather than performing a wholesale rewrite, his version is true to Shakespeare's original in both spirit and text, keeping the essence, emotion and meaning in tact.

Through a series of short, pacy scenes, there are no moments of confusion or lost concentration simply because Bill has at all times remained focused on solid storytelling with a definite purpose.

"By the standards of RSC's Such Tweet Sorrow and Baz Luhrman's 1996 film, our production is quite straightforward," he said. "We began by ruthlessly trimming the text to bring it in under two hours and adapting it for performance by only six actors. This helped us to discover the essence of the story and how to bring it alive in an authentic and enjoyable way."

Yes, there's comedy – as is to be expected of any Miracle show – but the most power is contained in the darker passages. When Old Capulet loses his temper with Juliet, his wife and the nurse in turn, the brutality has real menace. Played by Steve Jacobs, a Cornish actor who brings a sense of humanity to every role he tackles, his grief at Juliet's apparent death is heart-felt.

With young and believable lovers the audience can really empathise with, menace and wisdom in equal part from Steve Jacobs as Old Capulet and Father Laurence, and classic clowning from Ben Dyson as the nurse, this is Miracle on top form.

Alan Munden's simple but effective set, painted entirely blood red, echoes the bare Elizabethan stages of Shakespeare's day and compliments the drama. The other star was the venue. On a June evening, under a cloudless sky, Indian Queens Pit is an enchanting setting, ringed at this time of year by blackthorn in a riot of blossom. The Minack may boast of dolphins and fishing boats, but the display of bat aerobatics as the final, terrible denouement unfolded, gave the show an added dimension.

In the company's most ambitious tour ever, open air performances will be staged in variety of venues, from castles and gardens to ancient playing places and even on a beach.

Miracle Theatre's production of Romeo & Juliet continues at The Castle, Bude (June 16), Redruth Fairfield (June 17), Sterts Theatre (June 19), Rosewarne Manor (June 20), Trereife Park, Newlyn (June 27), Pencarrow (July 7), Lusty Glaze Beach (July 8), The Keay, St Austell (July 9), Carn Marth Amphitheatre (July 10), Callington – venue to be confirmed (July 11), Cabilla Manor, Mount (July 21), Heligan (July 22), Tregenna Castle Estate, St Ives (July 25), Tresco Abbey Gardens (July 29), St Mary's Chaplaincy Gardens (July 30 and 31 and August 1), Pendennis Castle, Falmouth (Aug 11 and 12), Plen-an-Gwary, St Just (Aug 13), Restormel Castle, Lostwithiel (Aug 14), Perran Round (Aug 15), Roskillys Farm, St Keverne (Aug 16), Penlee Park, Penzance (Aug 18 and 19), Tregehan Gardens, St Austell (Aug 20), Carruan Farm, Polzeath (Aug 21), St Mawes Castle (Aug 26), Trelissick Garden, Feock (Aug 27, 28, 29), Carwinion Gardens, Mawnan Smith (Aug 30). For full tour details, visit: www.miracletheatre.co.uk.