Theatre
Romeo and Juliet
MADC
San Anton Gardens
It is very brave to put up Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet because of the expectations that the audience has of the plot. As one of his best-known plays, it has captured the imagination of every generation partly because of the ill-fated lovers’ misfortune and partly because of the fact that rivalry, wilfulness, vindictiveness and revenge are still themes which we grapple with today.
The way in which true love attempts to rise above them, only to be thwarted by misunderstanding while we understand that sorrow and sacrifice are the only means of reconciliation, touch a nerve and play on our feelings of empathy and the cultural construct that love should conquer all.
MADC’s annual appointment with Shakespeare at San Anton Gardens this year did not disappoint. Their new reimagining of this old favourite, under the direction of the young Luke Farrugia, brought a fresh new energy and perspective to a play whose many incarnations leave many feeling dissatisfied if their comparison with more memorable productions does not live up to their original appreciation of this work.
The cast and company managed to make the piece engaging and relatable, while the staging and styling gave it a quirky, dreamlike, almost storybook feel to it – with pleasant post-modern twists. Isabel Warrington’s simple set blended into the stunning background of the baroque palace behind it, and her costume designs, created by Louie Noir, had the sumptuous feel of the renaissance with hints of the contemporary, thanks also to Guy Galea’s hair styling.
What gave the piece its renaissance flair and elevated its visual artistry was the hauntingly beautiful score by Jocelyn Pook. In some instances, Francesco Nicodeme’s choreography helped increase the tension and bellicose movement in the larger crowd scenes, but it was the sharp blocking and pace which kept the piece’s momentum from dropping.
Philip Leone-Ganado is no stranger to taking on lead Shakespearean roles and his Romeo was earnest and brooding in the right way, but I did find that there is a certain similarity in the attitude of the characters he plays, which manifested itself in his mature take on a youth who has barely left boyhood.
When coupled with Erica Muscat’s self-assured and accomplished Juliet, their performance was just a tad too grown-up and controlled to reflect the reckless teenage infatuation of angsty puberty. This was better mirrored and accomplished in their modern counterparts – the modern Romeo and Juliet, who seem to be rehearsing for roles in a sixth form performance, and played by Nicola Andrejevic and Giulia Xuereb respectively. Their doubling, echoing and shared, alternating lines in some of the more powerful speeches of the young lovers, softened the adult take on their relationship without detracting from the passion and earnestness which is so crucial to their relationship.
The cast and company managed to make the piece engaging and relatable, while the staging and styling gave it a quirky, dreamlike, almost storybook feel to it
Thus one could see the vision that Farrugia had: two young students, actors, rehearsing their lines together while their imagination unfolds the narrative of the main play, hinting that these real-life, modern young people might also have feelings for each other. Juliet’s Ghost (Jasmine Farrugia), on the other hand, served as a third persona for such a fascinating romantic female lead and became the immortal aspect of the literary character who survives in our collective imaginations. Their effective simultaneous chanting and interpretation of some of Juliet’s most memorable lines was a very clever move.
Juliet’s confidante is her Nurse, played by an increasingly confident Antonella Mifsud, who although rather too young for the role, managed to portray it very well and gave a highly likeable performance. She took on a protective motherly role that Lord and Lady Capulet could not provide.
Stefan Cachia Zammit’s short but highly intense role as Lord Capulet was strong and captivating while Laura Best’s imperious and strong-willed Lady Capulet made a formidable matriarch who was very much in control of her family’s destiny and found an equally powerful counterpart in Coryse Borg’s Lady Montague, Romeo’s mother. Their final tableau was particularly moving.
The director made a small appearance as Paris, Juliet’s suitor, chosen by her parents and killed by Romeo in the mausoleum. He was a rather affected, supercilious man with too much faith in his own lineage and not enough knowledge of emotional forces.
The political and religious forces, represented by Michael Mangion as Prince Escalus and Joe Zammit as Friar Laurence, pushed for peace and happiness to prevail but even their machinations and authority could not contain the strength or love and its opposite hate – manifested in passion: for another being and for an empty cause.
This empty cause, this rivalry, was portrayed very well by Christian Galea’s Mercutio and David Chircop’s Tybalt, who in spite of Romeo and Benvolio’s (Roger Tirazona) attempts at dissipating the tension, duelled to the death. Mercutio’s dying words rang true and in avenging his friend’s death by killing Tybalt, Romeo began the inevitable unravelling of his own fortune.
Galea, Chircop and Tirazona gave interpretations which heightened their respective characters’ brazen boldness, ruthless pride and fair gravitas, making for a well-rounded ensemble.
This year’s Shakespeare at San Anton was marred only by the sounds of a presidential reception which could have been held in one of the far gardens to mitigate noise pollution.
Thankfully, a good third of it served as background to the masked ball taking place on stage and the much improved articulation and sound delivery of lines, compensated for it. It was indeed a good evening out where love and tragedy laid passion to rest and gave rise to reconciliatory compassion.
• Romeo and Juliet is also being staged tonight. Tickets may be obtained by e-mail: info@madc.com.mt or ticket hotline 7777 6232.