On June 15th, I was fortunate enough to witness this brilliant retelling of the classic play written by William Shakespeare, but on this occasion performed by Flabbergast Theatre. Set inside the ruins of Ludlow Castle, the surroundings bring a medieval and romantic atmosphere to the play, that I haven’t before experienced. The beautiful castle walls framed the scaffolding stage so perfectly it almost looked natural. The performance started at 7:30pm and ran for 2 hours and 15 minutes with an interval.
This performance of Romeo and Juliet was passionate and brilliantly acted. Each character was played so enthusiastically you could instantly tell who was who without any names being mentioned. Tybalt in particular stood out to me, the actor had a way of looking directly at you without really seeing you. This made the performance so much more convincing and stayed with me long after the play had finished. Not only were all the actors great performers they also brought their own modern take on the play that I haven't yet seen before. They moved through phases of modern and old english which, particularly for a younger audience, could make the play a lot more enjoyable as it may make it easier to follow, or even make it easier for those who aren’t as familiar with the play.
The scaffolding stage was an incredible idea, the way the characters move up and down on it felt very animalistic at times and very elegant at others. The entire audience was hung on every moment and every word, and there was regular laughter at the many jokes throughout the play. I didn’t notice a single person who looked uninterested or bored and they received a well deserved standing ovation at the end of the performance.
I must also comment on the actors perseverance despite the dramatic downfall of rain! I was really impressed by their ability to continue on seamlessly and professionally in conditions that many others couldn’t stand. Thankfully the performance wasn’t cancelled as it had been the night before. This meant i was fortunate enough to witness the entirety of the play, and I must say I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
If you have been considering going I certainly hope this review encourages you to go and see one of their performances of Romeo and Juliet at 7:30 from the 15th to the 23rd of June. I am hoping to see more from them in the future and I would love to see them back at the castle for another great performance.
What a unique experience! Thanks for sharing!