Faith, Hope and Clarity, and the Rutter School of democratic dictatorship

I saw the Northern Broadsides production of Romeo and Juliet at the West Yorkshire Playhouse last week, and overall I enjoyed it. I like Broadsides as a company, with their clarity and use of ‘Northern voice’, despite the overuse of clogs*. And also despite the Barrie Rutter ego trip that tends to be there in every performance. This time, he was Capulet, and it seemed to suit him.

The setting was modern, with a minimal set – practical as it’s a touring production, so has to fit into theatre spaces of various styles and forms. Romeo and Juliet were presented as very modern teenagers, which both worked, and sometimes jarred. They are difficult parts to cast, as the actors have to be young enough to convince, and yet old enough to play the emotional depth, and also to have the experience to deliver the lines. Here we had a pair who looked young, but who sometimes struggled with the verse, occasionally to the point of making me wince.

That said, it did move me, and I found I was crying both when Juliet was found ‘dead’, and then in the last scene**.

In the ‘Talkback’ after the performance, Rutter said that they’re often called ‘the Shakespeare company for those who don’t do Shakespeare’, and I think that’s about right. I could see this production connecting very well with those seeing their first Shakespeare. He was also right when he said that whatever else you thought, you couldn’t fail to grasp the story. He did say a lot I didn’t agree with, mainly about character – but again I agree that with Shakespeare you don’t need to look for the back story as it’s all there on the page for you.

*Yes, I know it’s their trademark, but I really don’t believe that the Capulets would have been clog dancing at their ball!
**I also always cry at the apothecary scene, but that has more to do with the death of Smike in Nicholas Nickleby*** than with R&J
*** too long to explain