Romeo & Juliet

Shakespeare 4 Kidz

Five Stars

To enter the Ashcroft Theatre to find it packed full of youngsters is notable on its own. Many of those attending were, I don’t doubt, experiencing live theatre for the first time and, remarkably, the original tale they have come to see was written by William Shakespeare. Something of a phenomenon and even more so because the adaptation of this and many more of his famous works are home-grown – thanks to the local team of Julian Chenery and Matt Gimblett whose embryo idea of bringing the Bard’s plays to a level easily understood by children kicked off with A Midsummer Night’s Dream 12 year’s ago and has now grown so much that their first full-length feature film of The Tempest is due to start shooting next year. Add to this their play packs for schools and the musicals and it can be seen how much S4K has and could influence attendances of the originals.

Bursting with lively music, comedy, modern language and choreography the show has great appeal, keeping some of the world-famous lines intact and paraphrasing some others. Costumes are modern, not men in tights, and there is a slight pantomime feel to some of the action – particularly from Noel Andrew Harron playing Mercutio. The serious message here, of course, is right up to date as the long-standing family rivalry between the Montegues and the Capulets is the cause of the knife-crime in which Tybalt kills Mercutio and Romeo, out of sheer anger, rounds on Tybalt and stabs him. An all too familiar scenario on Croydon’s streets today.

The fact that the tale is told by a young company adds to its appeal, albeit that the supplier of Juliet’s sleeping potion, Friar Lawrence, look like a venerable man of the cloth but Anthony Stuart-Hicks’ pelvic thrusts not only gave the game away but certainly entertained the audience.

It is estimated that the musical versions of Romeo & Juliet together with The Tempest will play to around 120,000 people during their current tours, presenting in 60 theatres up and down the country. In Spring 2009 the company embark on its third international tour of Europe and the Middle East thus helping towards a better understanding of William Shakespeare’s works – not bad for an idea originally played out at Woodlea Primary School in Woldingham.

Theo Spring