Romeo & Juliet: An Incomplete Review

On Thursday night the girls and myself headed over to KLPAC to watch a play adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, directed by Christopher Ling. Ms. Sarah recommended we watch it to sharpen our sensitivity to stage directions in preparation for A2 A-levels. The twist to the play is that the audience will be following a particular group of students, classmates in literature class, acting out Romeo & Juliet. Cynics may be quick to denounce the play for not staying true to the original but we went there with an open mind, hoping to learn a thing or two from fellow students (later found out Romeo's actor is 24 y/o hahaha)

Opening seating positions for your better understanding. 

As the audience trickles into the theatre, they are greeted with a scene that piques their curiosity. First, there is a sound that drowns the murmurs and shuffling of feet in the theatre- Joshua the student who plays Romeo, is tirelessly stabbing his pen into his table; his hands do not tire until the play really begins. His lips draw to a pout, throbbing head resting on his arm, impatiently waiting for class to end. It's worth noting he hand does not rest until the play really begins. Friar Lawrence's character gets up in slow motion to go to the back of the class to sharpen his pencil; there's something deep and contemplative about the way he sharpens his pencil. In contrast to Friar Lawrence, Lady Capulet and Romeo's friend suddenly get up , chairs screeching in pain, and hastily pack their books. They race and steal glances at each other; Romeo's friend buckles under the pressure and drops a pencil but quickly recovers it back. A smug smile curls upon Lady Capulet's lips and her eyes turn back to Tybalt. She confidently stands up, sashays her way to him, and then tells him a dirty little secret. They share a maniacal laughter.They exaggerate a giggle or two while side-eyeing Romeo's friend. Juliet is sleeping soundly, oblivious and ambivalent to the simmering conflict between the left and right and plotting between the front and back.

The Teacher enters. And the show begins.

What I find most interesting about this play was the director's ingenuity in using a 'filler' scene to characterize the characters. Their regular student classroom behaviour projects and foreshadow the roles they will play while acting in class later on. (remember they are playing students playing Romeo & Juliet. I've never read Romeo & Juliet before so this allowed me to reason character fates and dynamics in the play.)

 Romeo The Student  has impatience of the highest degree which later leads him to making his rash decisions as Legit Romeo. Surprise, surprise, he kissed his family's sworn enemy at a ball. Fortunately, in the midst of all the chaos, Friar Lawrence is seen as a neutral point of equilibrium by both parties. When something is out of order, at once Friar Lawrence is sought after! However, try as he may, he fails to restore peaceful matrimony when Legit Romeo mistakenly takes away his own life thinking his bride is no more.

As for Lady Capulet and Romeo's friend, they made it clear from the start this is a play where 'civil blood makes civil hands unclean'. They are even strategically placed on opposite ends of the stage, Friar Lawrence in the middle as mediator between the Capulets and Montagues. Perhaps, he is also placed there as a physical barrier to build up to a more intense physical fight later on. On the other hand, Juliet is completely ignorant of the ongoing conflict. Or perhaps, she chooses to not care by pretending to sleep while Lady Capulet and Tybalt gossip about the Montagues. From another perspective. it can also be suggested that Juliet is truly sleeping, common to her airy and carefree characters who would rather live in a world of dreams and fantasies to avoid reality.

So in conclusion,  you have this interfamily fued lasting generations. This ditzy chick who doesn't give a shit and wants a perfect distraction. This impatient guy who just wants sex..and voila! Romeo & Juliet! 

Ok kidding, that was a very crude conclusion. But I truly am running out of time and have to go. Hence, An Incomplete Review littered with grammatical errors. (Sorry Ms. Sarah!)

A few points

• Lighting I noticed 4 types of lighting (blue for classroom, orange red for conflicts, spotlight which makes you look like a ghost for soliloquys, colourful like below when Romeo was courting Juliet at her balcony. Maybe he hung Christmas lights for her or she has hugeass colourful glass windows. Wah damn rich ah this French chick.) 

• Dancing & Music For other 'filler' scenes, they danced some military moves to some corporal-like music. I don't think it was relevant to Romeo & Juliet but instead, was on purpose to characterize The Teacher as someone strict  (ironically, his character boogeys down with the students!) or create a very rigid classroom environment. Friar sang well too!

• Sound effects I would have loved to see more sound effects to enhance the mood, or maybe I happened to not notice during all the conflict or climax scenes

• Kissing Scenes Romeo and Juliet looked like they had a lot of practice kissing and embracing each other. I wish I could comment on the chemistry between them but I was too busy having a culture shock (OMG I WAS SITTING RIGHT IN FRONT AND THEY WERE MAKING OUT WTH WHY DID I FEEL SO GELI SORRY FOR SOUNDING PRUDE I JUST DIDN'T EXPECT PUBLIC SEMI-PASSIONATE KISSING IN MALAYSIA) . They seemed at the least comfortable but any further, I have no others to compare them to.  

• Acting My favourite was Mercutio, hands down. He's so full of himself, so protective of Romeo that it becomes comical and even endearing. I don't think this is accurate to the original but kudos to the actor and director for adding the extra flair. I appreciate it cuz I seriously laughed myself silly! Hats off to the rest of the cast. I have no complaints, they were good. Great? Not sure, I dare not give too skewed opinions because I've only watched three plays so far.

OK DONE. *PHEW*

Happy Days Ahead,
Hui Min aka Yau