Romeo And Juliet

Bell Shakespeare's first production under the sole Artistic Directorship of Peter Evans is a resounding success. Romeo And Juliet is tried and true — a classic that requires a light touch, a dash of humour, and a cast who can travel between bawdiness and heart-aching sincerity in a flash. It can easily go awry if a person is miscast, or if the reinterpretation is too modern or too old-fashioned. This hits the perfect balance.

We're taken to the 17th century by costume and set designer Anna Cordingley. Her amazing work creating a stage upon a stage, complete with balconies, hanging curtains, and supporting scaffolding gives the ensemble a space in which to move, climbing and hanging off parts of the stage like they're monkey bars. This proves to be engaging — as do the necessary fight sequences, choreographed by Movement & Fight Director Nigel Poulton.

Our Romeo is fiery and passionate — we understand why Juliet could fall so fully for Alex Williams. But his best scenes are when he's with his friends, Jacob Warner as Benvolio and standout Damien Strouthos as Mercutio, the perfect mix of supportive and fun, the place for the best of the lewd banter that has helped keep Shakespeare titillating through the ages. Meanwhile Juliet, played by Kelly Paterniti, is played extra young, extra naive — which is fine, but doesn't really give us a lot of emotional complexity: we're not quite able to fully empathise with her lovesick plight.

Still, all in all it's a production with a lot to commend about it, an easy dip into Shakespeare for high school students and young adults, who want to see the story they know so well done justice.