Romeo and Juliet: A Wild Western Take On A Romantic Classic 🤠😊❤️🎭

Hello world!

Welcome back to another blog. In this blog I will be taking you through the time I went to see Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare's Globe with my good friend Leo Long!

For those who haven’t seen or at least heard of the play, this Shakespeare classic tells the story of the romance between two people from opposing families. I’ve seen this show before back in February 2024 in my hometown by Nottingham Shakespeare Company (which you can view here to see what I thought of it: https://www.theautisticactress.com/post/where-for-art-thou-tickets-for-this-modern-remake-of-a-classical-text), but I feel it’s great to see different variations of iconic plays, especially if it’s taken place at a beautiful venue like The Globe. And it was also a proper bucket list moment for me, as it’s not every day you get to see an iconic venue like that. This performance also included a BSL interpreter. I love performances like this, as it makes it that little bit more accessible for those who are hard of hearing. And it’s also set in the style of being in the Wild West, which was a very clever and unique spin on the tragic love story, and also the fact that one of my special interests in the past was all things cowboys and cowgirls. 

Rawaed Asde and Lola Shalam took on the roles of the star crossed lovers. And they did a brilliant job of bringing these iconic characters to life. Each of them had their own little personality traits and the chemistry they shared on screen was beautiful to see. There was a moment as well where Romeo’s mask slightly fell off during the scene where he and Juliet met for the first time, but how he carried on like a true professional is something to admire. I also liked how Rawaed immersed himself into the audience for one part, and also how Juliet’s balcony came into the audience when Romeo and Juliet agree to get married in secret. Overall, their relationship along with moments that made me chuckle and moments which were tense made this unique take on the classical play beautiful. They’ve also got beautiful chemistry on stage as well, which is also important. 

The supporting characters who have impacted the young lovers journey also did a grand job of the piece as well.

Jamie-Rose Monk played the role of The Nurse. What I love about this character is her quirky comedic personality that helped balance the fatal end of this play whilst also showing depth and care for Juliet. And knowing the danger it would bring, she still supported Juliet’s decision to be with Romeo. And you could tell by the time Juliet died, she was deeply heart broken, and her comedic personality slowly faded and was replaced by grief and emotion. That in turn showed the different sides of this important character in the play.

Léa Des Garets and Colm Gormley took on the roles of Lord and Lady Capulet. Lord definitely showed who’s boss, as we got to see a quirky side to him when organising the party, but a harsh side when Juliet states her objections to marrying Paris. And equally whilst Lady Capulet wasn’t as harsh with Juliet during the objections, she still made her stance clear on that was how it had to be. And I loved her moment when the nurse kept interrupting her during the first appearance! 

Michael Elcock took on the role of Mercutio. I think he was the best character out of all of them and my personal favourite. He was funny, his audience interaction was fantastic, and when the character met his fatal end in act 1, he definitely wasn’t being funny then, showing the true definition of how one minute you’re laughing until it hurts, and then the next your shocked by what happened next. 

Roman Asde took on the role of Benvolio. I must say he did a brilliant job at opening the show, and on an iconic venue I can’t imagine it being easy to do so. But he did it with perfection and managed to help carry the story along, serving some light and shade moments, all while making sure that no drama gets in the way kid the Montagues and Capulets. 

Joe Reynolds took on the role of Paris. His version reminded me of an actor who also took on the role when I took part in this play back in college. And what I mean by that was that Paris had this role where him trying to be flirty in front of Juliet was funny to see, and his slow dancing with her was a little bit stiff (although I think that’s how it was meant to be lol ) but when he doesn’t get what he wants, you wouldn’t want to get on his bad side. But he certainly did a brilliant job at taking on the man who Juliet is not so keen on. 

Calum Callaghan took on the role of Tybalt. I loved his confident style even though he’s someone you don’t want to mess with, and he was also Leo’s favourite character. Yes he puts on a strong bad guy front, but it’s only due to how much he cares for his family. And his death definitely sparked more fury between the Montagues and the Capulets. 

Dharmesh Patel took on the role of Peter, peg boy to the Capulets. I loved his flair interpretation of the character, and like the nurse, also served as a comedic character in this tragic story. But he served as an integral character in the story, and he did a grand job of bringing the sweet innocence of this character to life.

Finally, John Lightbody took on the role of Friar Lawrence. Like Mercutio, he also had his comedy moments when he interacted with the audience, especially when he made his first appearance. His version of helping the young lovers be together really shone through, and you could tell that he didn’t want the montages and Capulets’ feud to get in the way of their love. 

I was also delighted to see the appearance of David Olaniregun, who I saw in the National Youth Theatres REP Company production of Twelfth Night (where you can read my thoughts of the show here: https://www.theautisticactress.com/post/coming-to-the-twelfth-night-at-nyt). Even though I didn’t notice on stage, after reading the programme it was a nice surprise to see him featured in it. And it’s examples like this on how training through programs like National Youth Theatre can help you gain access to amazing opportunities. 

I think my only downsides to the show wasn’t the actual play at all, but it was the little things that happened around me. Even though it was an open air theatre, it was still very humid, and there have been a couple of phones going off during the performance along with outside distractions like planes going past. But whether the actors on stage heard them or not, like the true professionals they are they carried on and gave off a spectacular performance. 

Overall I would give the show a full house. Despite the distractions outside that took place, the show itself was tense, it had light and shade and I liked this version of the classic Shakespeare romance. 

And that is it for my review of this iconic show. Please see a link to The Globes official website to find out what you can do to support them and what other shows they’ve got coming up next!

https://www.shakespearesglobe.com

Please also see a mini vlog on my highlights on what I got up to before, during and after my visit to the show!

https://youtube.com/shorts/Hcdcn4BOVBw?si=T1-RAt-rlJrEH5Xt

See you soon for another blog. Until next time…

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)