Review: Dazzling galaxy of talent in Playbox’s young stage stars

Romeo and Juliet, Playbox Theatre’s Shakespeare Young Company, St Mary’s church, Warwick, March 20.
Playbox Theatre's Shakespeare Young Company.Playbox Theatre's Shakespeare Young Company.
Playbox Theatre's Shakespeare Young Company.

Romeo and Juliet is a play about the harsh lessons of growing up. All the characters start in a state of youthful innocence, not to mention ignorance, and by the end they have learned that actions and emotions have consequences - and that pleasure comes at a price.

The drama of the play is as much internal as external. Nancy Hall’s Juliet was the brightest star in this dazzling galaxy. She had to personify her childishness with an adult’s awareness of what it feels like to grow up in a vicious world, and she did it brilliantly. Together she and Romeo (Andy Norris) lived out their doom laden romance with a touching and at times heart-breaking rapport.

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As always with Playbox Theatre, the ensemble playing is superb. Other stars included Sam Knights as Mercutio, who was a fiery foil to his friend Romeo, and Grace Martin, who gave Nurse a young woman’s playful heart and humour. Jamie Watt played Friar Lawrence with paternal solicitude and Grace Bridgewater Tybalt with venom. These are just a few: I could as easily have picked others.

Some of the conflict scenes could have done with a little less fury and a bit more menace and I wasn’t too keen on the dance sequence at the end, which seemed lightweight, given the power of what had gone before.

But these were small prices for a thrilling evening in a beautiful setting.

The show is being performed by two casts as part of the Warwick Spring Festival. The two remaining performances are at the Dream Factory in Warwick on Friday March 28 and Saturday March 30. Tickets from 419555.

Nick Le Mesurier