Megan Samuel shines as Capo, Romeo’s older sister, the matriarch of the family and a feared member of the community.
#Intermission theatre full
Mbuini’s is a nuanced performance, full of teenage awkwardness and burgeoning confidence. Romeo is one of the more challenging characters to make interesting on the stage, requiring a balance of teenage insouciance and earnestness to avoid him seeming insipid. Mbuini’s Romeo is another superlative performance. Wisdom’s Juliet has a beautiful character arc and she imbues the character with a softness and an edge that speaks to her understanding of the complexities of the character. Ophelia J Wisdom and Chadrack Mbuini have real chemistry as the titular characters. It is easy to forget that the majority of the characters in the source material are teenagers and it is amazing the difference that having young people play the key roles has. The script is absolutely matched by a number of truly stand out performances.
Raymond also uses a chorus to handle the exposition heavy parts of the play and to emphasise the depth of emotions that the characters feel, a simple innovation that really works. At one point a character says ‘if it ain’t the feds it’s the ops’ and it is a succinct summation of how the young characters view the world they live in. His script shines through, refreshing the play in a way that many productions reach for without grasping for it. Raymond has rewritten the play, blending Shakespeare’s language with the contemporary language of the inner city and reversing the roles: it is Juliet that seeks to woo Romeo. Written and directed by Darren Raymond, the story of warring families has been transported to London from Verona, the very real postcode wars the reason for tension. Not in the traditional theatre sense anyway. Intermission Youth Theatre’s Juliet and Romeo is not safe. It guarantees the audiences turn up and can provide a needed financial fillip to an industry that has struggled more than most over the last couple of years. Photo: Richard JinmanĬoming out of the lockdown, Romeo and Juliet has been a popular and safe choice for many theatres.
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