The Bard brought to life for 4 Kidz

By Mike Allen

The writing credits put the names of Julian Chenery and Matt Gimblett first with poor old William Shakespeare bringing up the rear, and that's probably a fair reflection of the content.

Although the production company is called Shakespeare 4 Kidz, the work itself is more '4 Kidz' than it is Shakespeare.

The essential plot is there, sensibly snipped to come in at under two hours' playing time, but only the choicest of the original words are used. Lines like 'My only love sprung from my only hate'.

Chenery's direction, like the writing, plays up the comedy for all its worth but uses it to highlight the ultimate tragedy.

The Nurse's Lament at the end, for example, is all the more affecting for the fact that she has tried to steal the show at almost every opportunity to that point.

Portsmouth-born actor Sean Luckham is fun as the Capulets' illiterate, scooter-riding servant, Friar Lawrence has a touch of the hippy, and Paris is a bespectacled chinless wonder in this modern-dress production.

But the performer who shines most brightly is Noel Andrew Harron as Mercutio, a mercurial gymnast with words as in movement.

The music is middle-of-the-road rock with a touch of blues – and snatches of Oklahoma! and Mendelssohn for anachronistic effect.

So can S4K succeed in converting K2S (work it out)? It might well, yes.

CLICK HERE to see the original review online at the Portsmouth News website