RADA’s Shakespeare Hard To Take Seriously
Romeo and Juliet performed by RADA was hard to take seriously. We were sitting in the balcony on deck 3. The audience was all getting up and leaving before the end of the play, and you can see why. It was hard to tell where the play was set. New York? Some Spanish city? It certainly wasn’t Verona. And when was it set? That was also problematical given the contemporary music being played that sounded more Mexican-American than Italian and certainly wasn’t Renaissance. The costumes of the players also gave no clue. Juliet was the only character wearing a long dress, but it looked more like the dress of a peasant than an aristocrat. Her mother was no lady, certainly not with the messy hair and the half-length skirt. Were those jeans that the men were wearing? And in what fantasy world was Tibult, Juliet’s cousin, supposed to be a female character? This is no comedy. It’s supposed to be a tragedy. It’s hard to believe that RADA is the same company that produced Richard 3 three years ago on Queen Mary 2.
Romeo and Juliet performed by RADA was hard to take seriously. We were sitting in the balcony on deck 3. The audience was all getting up and leaving before the end of the play, and you can see why. It was hard to tell where the play was set. New York? Some Spanish city? It certainly wasn’t Verona. And when was it set? That was also problematical given the contemporary music being played that sounded more Mexican-American than Italian and certainly wasn’t Renaissance. The costumes of the players also gave no clue. Juliet was the only character wearing a long dress, but it looked more like the dress of a peasant than an aristocrat. Her mother was no lady, certainly not with the messy hair and the half-length skirt. Were those jeans that the men were wearing? And in what fantasy world was Tibult, Juliet’s cousin, supposed to be a female character? This is no comedy. It’s supposed to be a tragedy. It’s hard to believe that RADA is the same company that produced Richard 3 three years ago on Queen Mary 2.