Romeo and Juliet

This is without question the best Shakespearean production to grace the Lyceum’s stage in quite a long time.

The play, about young lovers from families with a deep-seated hatred towards each other, is almost overdone in today’s world. It can always be found in performance somewhere and is a constant on the school curriculum, plus it has also sparked countless adaptations and imitators and is frequently referenced and quoted.

There are many reasons why Tony Cownie’s production is a great success, but chief among them is that the performances feel fresh. It is constantly creative, and it also manages to surprise.

Cownie is assisted by a great company of actors. Each performance not only comes across as truthful and passionate but never falls into Shakespearean clichés or difficulties. This is a production meant for the stage and not a poetry recital - a fact alone that makes this worth catching - and each character comes across as interesting but flawed.

In such a strong ensemble, it is difficult to pick favourites, but there are still some notable stand-outs. Grant O’Rourke has a blast as audience favourite Mercutio and Liam Brennan is strong as Capulet, a role that is much better-written than many productions seem to realise. Alexandra Mathie and Sean Murray are both great as Nurse and Friar Lawrence, the two adults who assist the lovers in their affair.

However, any production of the play hinges on the talents of the title characters, and here Cownie has two solid performances. Will Featherstone’s Romeo and Kirsty Mackay’s Juliet are both wonderful creations that are easy to sympathise and identify with. They have a chemistry that is realistic without seeming forced, and as good as they are in their individual scenes, the production really takes off when they are together.