We all know Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; it is for most of us, our first gateway into the works of Shakespeare, most likely via the school room or some film adaptation of sorts. Yet DUCT’s adaptation of the play is innovative, with the setting changing from 14th century Verona to a time of great political instability – the French Revolution. With the Capulet’s presented as monarchists, and the Montague’s as political radicals, looking to make a republic, the tensions between our Romeo and Juliet’s families are amplified. Romeo (Charlie Moscrop) and Juliet’s (Phoebe Murray) desire to be united presented as increasingly unattainable. This tragedy is centred not on collaboration but the perils of the opposite. DUCT’s version depicting an inability to communicate and understand each other due to extreme political difference, poignant in a time when politics appears increasingly polarised.
The creative team do a brilliant job at signalling the difference between the two families, even on a purely aesthetic level. The Capulet’s are dressed in clothes more befitting a family of wealth, in decadent clothing that emulates fashion of the court. The more extreme their beliefs seem to be, the more extravagant their costumes, with the fabric on Tybalt’s (Ben Oliver) costume glittering and having excessive patterns and colours. Meanwhile, our radicals, the Montague’s are dressed in simpler clothes, though still retaining some semblance of a historical time period. Even the music used to signal the scenes with the Capulets and Montague’s are different; when Romeo and his companions – Mercutio (Horatio Holloway) and Benvolio (Tori Travers) – begin the scene the music seems significantly more military, recalling their status as political radicals.
The need for communication dominates the play, and the timing works to emphasis the utter frustration of waiting for and not receiving information. Juliet’s nurse, played by Posy Portwood, brings a comic element to this, through her long convoluted narratives and questions prolonging the information that Juliet longs for. We feel, much as Juliet does, the frustration of waiting. Murray, as Juliet, kneels on the floor begging for her nurse to bring her information about her love; the confines and restrictions that her life as a high-born woman brings is evident. She is not afforded the same freedom, as the nurse, to leave to the outside world and find out information for herself.
Posy Portwood as the nurse adds an element of humour to the story of Romeo and Juliet’s wistful, passionate love affair. Her frank discussion of sexuality and long rambles are refreshing among long monologues about teenage love. And yet, especially in the first act, the audience can never take the main characters too seriously. Romeo’s first introduction to the stage is fairly humorous one, where he regretfully longs for his (then) love Rosalind. But, it is played with a hint of irony – Romeo may take his commitment seriously, but the audience are well aware that this devotion to Rosalind will not last long. Instead, it is the latter part of the first half in which we see a sharp turn to the tragic. Romeo’s romantic longing no longer brings laughs, and instead highlights the looming tragedy. The second half of the play, for me, belonged to Juliet. Phoebe Murray brought to life a young girl forced to make decisions with no allies to support her; with even her beloved confidante, the nurse, suggesting she give up on Romeo. Juliet is left is isolation- it is here where the most poignant scenes are performed.
Ultimately, the co-directors of this production of Romeo and Juliet, Roxy Rayward and Samuel Bentley have created a work to be proud of – it is both a stylistically beautiful production, with phenomenal acting. While at times, the pacing could have been slightly quicker and the scene changes could feel a tad clunky, these are minor issues which ultimately hold no real bearing on my feelings toward the play. The shift turn from humour to tragedy is moving, reminding us just how quickly it can all go wrong. Perhaps must importantly reminding us of the necessity to communicate and the failures that come with division – how can we allow the youth to move forward if their parents refuse even a semblance of collaboration. Growth and progression comes through communication, a fact that Shakespeare tells us through the bitter tale of Romeo and Juliet.
Originally published in The Bubble Print Edition Summer 2025.