The familiar terrain of both writer Gary Owen and director Rachel O’Riordan at Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre seems to be a homestay, if for the time being. Gary has previously reimagined Greek tragedy and Chekov and now he looks back to the Bard for the latest turn: Romeo & Julie.
We’ve seen the Cardiff district of Splott a few times onstage in recent years, including Matthew Bulgo’s Constellation Street at The Other Room, while Gary’s own Iphigenia In Splott got enough attention to make it to London and New York. My own experience of the area made me wonder how this would work as a show, and there is very little actual Shakespeare in Romeo & Julie, in story at least. The starcrossed lovers in question are forbidden to form a relationship, though more so through Julie’s parents than anything. That’s pretty much the connection.
With an opening that features an extensive conversation about baby poo, we are thrust right into things with no prisoners. Romeo is a single parent, desperate to make it work, his booze-soaked mother Barb helping but not always having the best of intentions. Romance blooms in the local library where Romeo meets Julie, who offers to assist him with the childcare. As the couple grows, they face commanding parents, money woes, academic aspirations and more. Julie wants to go to Cambridge to study physics, but so much is holding her back.
The show belongs to Callum Scott Howells, who impresses with a kinetic energy, pent-up and exhausted as Romeo. The little face flicks do it for me: he can easily change his whole expression, though often remains quite stern when needed as well. Cardiff is proud of him. Rosie Sheehy attempts a good Splott accent and just about gets away with it. She also commands in this loved-up couple where any tragic flicker could strike at any moment; it’s refreshing, too, to see a character who chooses to get an education, though the path there is filled with many bumps. Catrin Aaron, as Barb, tries to steal the show, and while the cutting remarks and sarcasm the funny highlights of the night, she lacks a proper character arc. You never really know where you are with Barb: is she best supported or disdained?
I was less convinced by Julie’s parents Col and Kath, played by Paul Brennen and Anita Reynolds. Though they wanted what was best for their daughter, this wasn’t quite defined as well as it could have been, and their varying accents distracted to boot. Some moments about Kath’s hardship in employment also felt justified, though completely out of the blue. Brennen, at one point, seems to address the audience directly, livid with his daughter’s decision to study in Cardiff instead (its university does get some fair ribbing).
Sets by Hayley Grindle see oblong LED light installations atop the stage, a platform for the actors to rest, and the odd chair, with a pram aside. The audience seemed to really enjoy this, as did I, to an extent, though I missed the subtle sound design which has usually lingered in past Owen/O’Riordan collaborations.
I found the strife of Romeo to be fairly compelling, though I wonder if the show could have fitted into a solid 90 minute frame? Tempting as it is to consider Romeo & Julie in the context of Shakespeare, as the name evidently implies, the show does little with that source material beyond offering up demanding parents forbidding relationships.
Romeo & Julie, Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Tue 18 Apr
Runs till Sat 29 Apr. Tickets: £8-£27. Info: here
words JAMES ELLIS
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