London.
RASTA THOMAS’ ROMEO AND JULIET
choreography by Adrienne Canterna.
Peacock Theatre Poland Street Holborn, WC2A 2H2 To 29 March 2015.
Tues-Sat 7.30pm Mat Sat 2.30 pm, Sun 2pm.
Runs 2hr One interval.
TICKETS: 0844 412 4322.
www.sadlerswells.com
Review: William Russell 11 March.
Dazzling athleticism, dollops of Vivaldi and Lady Gaga.
There is no denying this is a superbly fit company who are a pleasure to watch as they fly through the air with apparently the greatest of ease, doing back flips and double summersaults and pretty well every combination limbs in motion can achieve. Adrienne Canterna’s choreography is a bit of mix of this, that and the next thing, but she knows how to enthral an audience even if her retelling of the tale of the doomed lovers is far from moving,
This is in part due to the way the plot has been cut-down to a couple of dozen tiny scenes lasting about as long as the pop songs by the likes of Lady Gaga and Jay Z which, bits of Prokofiev and Vivaldi apart, provide the music to dance to. The mix proves distinctly awkward and Unchained Melody when Juliet takes the poison is one pop tune too far.
The lovers’ parents have also been eliminated, which destroys the reason for the tragedy; who is forcing Juliet to marry Paris? Friar Laurence, Kyle Lucia camping it up in true Vatican style, and Adrienne Hick as a nurse who seems as young as her charge, pointlessly take their place.
Anna Gerberich, however, is a delightful love-struck Juliet who almost belongs in a different ballet; Ryan Carlson, displaying his six pack and causing mayhem wherever he goes, is a hugely effective sex-bomb Tybalt, and Pete Leo Walker strides manfully around as Romeo
As showbiz-style entertainment this is up there with the best, although the back projections against which the events take place are a puzzling mixture of the truly beautiful and the amazingly vulgar. Architecturally this Verona is a most peculiar place indeed.
Somewhere along the way the tragic tale of Romeo and his Juliet has got lost but the razzle dazzle on display more than makes up for it.
Romeo: Pete Leo Walker.
Juliet: Anna Gerberich.
Friar Laurence: Kyle Lucia.
Nurse: Adrienne Hick.
Mercutio: Jarvis McKinley.
Benvolio: Ivan Gomez.
Tybalt: Ryan Carlson.
Gregory: Lloyd Boyd.
Sampson: Samuel Quinn.
Paris: Eric Lehn.
Director: Rasta Thomas.
Choreographer: Adrienne Canterna.
Video: Joshua Hardy.
Lighting: Roland Greil.
Audio Editor: Niels Anders.
Costume: Sally Canterna, Shay Bares.
2015-03-12 02:50:00
