The Stage

Romeo and Juliet : the Musical

Published Thursday 15 January 2009 at 13:25 by Kevin Berry

A musical version of Romeo and Juliet from the curiously named Shakespeare 4 Kidz company, but the action is not overwhelmed with songs. Indeed, the songs are all rather good. A gospel-style number Ready For the Wedding, sung and danced by the full company, had the Hull audience clapping along almost immediately.

There is spirit and style in the staging. Choreographer Joseph Fowler has the cast well grouped and moving with clear purpose. As Mercutio, Noel Andrew Harron shows the skill and finesse of a tumbler. He is very funny - his every entrance stirs a buzz of anticipation. But the first act is way too comic - funny for funny’s sake. Clapping along? Funny? Wait a moment - isn’t Romeo and Juliet supposed to be a tragedy?

Matt Brinker’s Romeo is disappointing. The meeting with Jenny Perry’s Juliet lacks fire and passion and leaves poor Perry struggling to create some chemistry between them. She perseveres, to her credit, and she gives the second act its tragic tone.

Playing the Nurse, Debbie Leigh Simmons is an absolute delight. Her introductory song I’m Juliet’s Nurse is very tasty. Both she and the lean and angular Richard-Foster King, as Paris, are sure to stick in children’s memories.

This adaptation is entertaining and it has a measure of integrity, but there may not be enough of Shakespeare’s language in it to satisfy children who already know the play.