Review: Romeo and Juliet, Auckland Theatre Company

Theo David (Shortland Street) and Phoebe McKellar (One Lane Bridge) as the titular young lovers in Auckland Theatre Company's new production of Romeo and Juliet. Photo / Supplied.

The majority of us have likely seen some version of Romeo and Juliet in our lifetime. From cinema to high school drama classes, whether it’s a straight presentation of the original text, or a modern adaptation, or a West Side Story-esque reimagining, William Shakespeare’s most accessible work is one we are all familiar with.

One of the issues that comes with adapting something that everyone has seen is finding a way to make it different. It’s a challenge that director Benjamin Kilby-Henson mostly rises to in the Auckland Theatre Company’s latest reimagining of the play.

This version has moved the story to the 1960s by way of purgatory - opening with Juliet contemplating her death before she drinks the potion. Death then rewinds the story to take us to the beginning.

The familiar story plays out against the backdrop of an opulent ballroom that is fading away. There’s a movie star chic to the characters, giving the first act the air of a decadent slice of Italian cinema.

Everything in this production is gorgeous to look at, from production designer Dan Williams’ stunning set to Daniella Salazar’s sumptuous costumes, each piece simply works.

Kilby-Henson has streamlined the play, cutting down on the characters and some scenes, and tweaking others with a modern flair, to speed things along, and it does give the story more speed and urgency.

Nearly every character has some tweak or flourish added to their storyline. Paris and Juliet’s mother are in a relationship, as are Mercutio and Benvolio. Several roles are gender-swapped. Production-wise, there’s a big choreographed dance number at the ball scene.

It’s all exciting and gripping and never boring to look at it, but at times it feels as though the story is drowning in choices. By trying to give every character and performer something new and different to work with, the good are forced to compete with the odd (what was the Paris and Capulet relationship meant to add, and why is everyone writhing about on a billiard table?), so it’s harder for the great bits - like the dance sequence - to fully stand out.

The second act gripped me more. The staging was pared back to appear more like an abandoned film set, with darker lighting and a bleaker atmosphere that sells the feeling of death better than any other production I’ve seen. It is, though, a hard pivot from the first act to the point where they don’t feel like the same production.

Phoebe McKellar was haunting and captivating as Juliet, mesmerising every time she was on stage, but she doesn’t get the broad comedy treatment that nearly every other character gets in the first act, so she stands as an outlier until everyone meets her level in act two.

Meeting the comedy, Courtney Eggleton nearly runs away with the entire show as Nurse. Theo David brings a cocky charm to Romeo that gives a great, youthful chemistry to the central romance.

Miriama McDowell as the gender-swapped Whaea Lawrence finds a fine balance between the play’s different tones, serious and engaged when needed, while getting the biggest laughs with the simplest of looks.

It is perhaps Amanda Tito, who dons multiple hats as Death, the Prince, and Petra the Capulets’ assistant, who perfectly encapsulates the production. She sells the broadest comedy possible as bumbling Petra and also delivers a sultry but darkly camp Death (complete with a manaical laugh I’m still thinking about) that fits seamlessly into both acts without changing a beat, and immediately commands attention.

The duality in her performances just spotlights the two sides of this adaptation. And while it didn’t all work for me (and I will admit I may be an outlier here - glee for the ‘freshness of the take’ was something I heard variations of throughout interval on opening night), when all the pieces connect in the right way, Romeo and Juliet produces some of the most engaging, thought-provoking theatre you are ever likely to see.

What: Romeo and Juliet

Where: ASB Waterfront Theatre, until August 9