Romeo & Juliet

In the prologue to his tale of star-cross'd lovers, Shakespeare makes reference to the 'two hours traffic of our stage', but it's difficult to imagine a production of the unedited text whizzing by that quickly.

The second half of Dundee Rep's current production runs to a whopping 90 minutes, and at its end one school-aged audience member at a preview performance could be heard to announce: 'I fell asleep, like, 20 times'.

Not that this is an unabridged version: the roles of both Tybalt and Mercutio are reduced and the first brawl is told through movement rather than words. All of which allows for more attention to be directed to the title characters, played by Kevin Lennon and Hannah Donaldson, last seen in Antigone.

Long-standing rep member Lennon is a curious choice for Romeo. He and the much younger-looking Donaldson manage to establish an endearing relationship, but their initial meeting is somewhat under-played and there really isn't a sense of the kind of overwhelming love at first sight that's required in order for the play's subsequent tragedy to pack a punch. If the pair's love has perhaps more to do with teenager self-absorption and rebellion, then the seriousness of the Capulet/Montague feud that is their undoing is not given enough emphasis.

Members of the supporting cast do some excellent work: Ann Louise Ross is a wonderfully couthy Nurse and Paul Thomas Hickey (so memorable in last year's Tempest at the Tron) similarly revels in innuendo of Mercutio's lines. Each has that rare ability to sound as if they are riffing when delivering Shakespearean dialogue. John Buick deserves mention for his compelling portrayal, in the play's final moments, of the crushed, conciliatory Montague.

Neil Warmington's set and costumes work well but with niggling exceptions. Juliet's suspended bed rocks disconcertingly when bearing both lovers, and her sartorial choices are baffling, especially given that everyone else appears to be living in the 1940s.

She may feel like a child that hath new robes and may not wear them when preparing for her first night with her new husband, but it's hard to believe that she couldn't rustle up anything more appropriate for the occasion than a pair of jeans and a grungy brown tunic.