Romeo & Juliet - The Globe

Live music is how it started. The stomping of feet, the musicians below, and the smiles all set the tone. Normally, Romeo and Juliet begins with Romeo proclaiming his love for Rosaline. But this production was about love itself, about how it feels to search for love from Romeo compared to love from Mercutio.

While Romeo was portrayed almost gently in this rendition, Mercutio’s performance stood out from other classic interpretations. Her charming retorts to the audience and her chemistry with Roman Asade, who played Benvolio, felt electric. The audience seemed to wake up whenever she was on stage.

The western take on Romeo and Juliet could have gone two ways in the beginning: playful and fun, or dry and empty. This interpretation chose playfulness and never let go. Joke after joke made the audience laugh. Although the dialogue was not original, the cast expanded how they spoke. Each phrase of Shakespeare’s text felt broken up to emphasize meaning. For example, “I do but keep the peace. Put up thy sword, or manage it to part these men with me.” As Benvolio spoke, he added physical movement to his lines and then paused.

This quick switching between action and text made each phrase distinct, from “sword” to “manage” to “part these men.” The clarity was impressive, but it was almost always delivered for comedy, sometimes to a fault. The heavier emotional moments were often lost because of the humor. It seemed as though the intention was to keep the audience joyful from beginning to end. While a joyous performance is always welcome, when emotional levels are missing, everything starts to feel the same. The exception to this was Mercutio’s death. Because she was the most captivating character, her loss felt much greater.

Beyond the usual focus on Romeo and Juliet, this production placed Mercutio in the center. Her contrast with Romeo, especially in how she viewed love and women, made her presence and voice much larger.

The set design by Paul Wills was created to move. The audience in the standing section had to shift as the actors performed. Juliet entered on a platform that hovered and connected to the main stage. However, Romeo and Juliet’s proclamation of love was not visible to everyone; from some viewpoints, the platform was blocked by a large pillar. Although the moving design felt innovative, sitting in the round, above, or at the center likely offered the best view.

The musicians were mostly hidden behind two large doors that swung open during celebratory scenes. The western theme worked surprisingly well. There is a saying that the best way to understand Shakespeare is through a country accent, and this production seemed to embrace that idea. The blocking even turned into country-style square dancing, leading to Romeo’s first appearance.

Although this was a creative choice, the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet did not feel magical. That moment should feel as if the entire world pauses, but here it felt slightly awkward, perhaps because of the silly dance happening beside them and the fact that they had already crossed paths several times earlier in the scene.

The comedy landed, and the performances by Mercutio, Benvolio, and the Prince (also doubling as Peter) were sharp and perfectly timed. However, the emotional depth of the deaths was missing. As the final lines were spoken and the music swelled, small laughs from the audience broke through, making the moment feel unintentionally humorous. Perhaps it was because this was a preview performance, but even the overlapping dialogue near the end felt hesitant, as if the actors were counting beats to stay in sync.

At times it felt as though every audience member had chosen a single actor to follow, completely captivated by their energy. The deaths, though not fully moving, created an interesting divide. Part of the experience felt like watching a play, while the other part, through the laughter and audience interaction led by Mercutio, felt like being inside it and perceiving it together.