“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” The most famous lines from one of the world’s best known plays ‘Romeo and Juliet’ which is playing at the Curve Theatre in Leicester.
‘Romeo and Juliet’ comes from the award-winning; Pilot Theatre Company based in The York Theatre Royal, who had previous successes with Lord of the Flies, and an adaption of Anne Cassidy’s, Looking for JJ.
Their latest production presents a contemporary version of the classic love story about the timeless tale of star crossed lovers, which uses the original text from William Shakespeare but compacted down to make the play more accessible to a newer audience.
The designer for the production Chloe lamford, (winner of Best Set design at TMA Awards 2007) went for a very simple but effective set design which included dozens of silk flowers, which are used to represent love and death, both important elements in the story. The set doesn’t change throughout the play, but really lets the beauty of the story speak for itself.
Unlike many other versions of the classic play, Sandy Nuttgens has produced a continuous cutting edge soundtrack for the show. The shows directors Marcus Romer and Katie Posner have both done an excellent job.
Rachel Spicer plays the lead role of Juliet with Oliver Wilson playing Romeo, both are relative new-comers to Theatre, but both put in brilliant performances. Chris Lindon as Mercutio/Paris and Louisa Eyo as Nurse/Prince, also performed wonderfully and stood out just as much as the two leads.
This show is perhaps more favourable to viewers that are already accustomed with the works of William Shakespeare, but with Pilot Theatre’s 21st century take on the classic love story, maybe newer audiences will enjoy it just as much.
The show has been running since Tuesday and will continue until 12th March, with performances everyday apart from Monday and Sunday, with matinees on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Ticket prices range from £14 to £25 with discounts for under 16s and over 60s.
For tickets go the curve website at www.curveonline.co.uk or alternately ring the ticket office on 01162423595.
