This Romeo and Juliet sets The Citadel ablaze

Graham Hicks review
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Citadel Theatre – Maclab Stage
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
April 5 – 27, 2014

Ticket information

The opening to the Tom Wood-directed Romeo and Juliet will stay emblazoned in my memory as long as there is memory upon which to be emblazoned.

Eighteen cast members on the stage (plus nine teen apprentices) are fighting, some with sword-play in the initial Montague/Capulet brawl.

It’s a swirling galaxy of choreography, initially in slow motion to pounding lights and music, then shifting gears to real life speed, finally, slowly, winding down as the elders of the two warring houses and the rulers show up to sort things out.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for big fight scenes, especially when the actors are in the prime of their athletic lives as these kids on either side of 30 are – rolling and flipping and dancing with those swords, up ‘n’ over four-metre high fences in the blink of an eye, cartwheeling off the thrust stage within metres of the audience front row.

It’s wonderful stuff, and couldn’t be done without the members of the Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program, an intensive six-week refresher program for professional actors a few years into their careers that culminates in a full-length production that’s been a highlight of the Citadel’s last six seasons.

The young actors are great for Shakespearian shows – Midsummer Night’s Dream in 11/12, As You Like It in 09/10 – because, indeed, they are close in age to Shakespeare’s lead characters and capture their vitality, joy and despair in ways that bring effervescent polish and new meaning to the bard’s words. What may be lacking in wisdom (yes, you can tell when 30-something actors play characters much older – gravitas is missing) is more than made up for with professional enthusiasm and ENERGY!!

The casting of Juliet herself is the ultimate director’s challenge: To find an actress who looks and acts young enough to be convincing as a teenage in love, so in love as to make the ultimate sacrifice, and also to have the acting smarts and intelligence to handle the very, very demanding role.

If I have a complaint about this version of Romeo and Juliet, it’s the laudable educational decision by Director Wood to play the characters of Romeo and Juliet in repertory, i.e. to have one pair of actors play the roles on night, an alternate pair the next.  Laudable for the young actors, so two men – Morgan David Jones and Brendan McMurtry-Howlett – have the opportunity to star as Romeo, and two women – Rose Napoli and Shaina Silver-Baird play Juliet. Tremendous, given the learning that must go on, not just for two, but for four.

But is it fair to the audience? On opening night, McMurtry-Howlett played Romeo, Silver-Baird was Juliet. Not being particularly enthralled by Silver-Baird’s Juliet, I spent much of my imagination wondering how the other Juliet would have played the role, but, alas, I’m not motivated enough to return to the Citadel to see this big show all over again for the sake of one actress.

McMurtry-Howlett was splendid as love-struck Romeo and all the other major supporting actors were born to their roles – Louise Lambert as a super-loud, bawdy nurse, Jamie Williams as wise Friar Lawrence who, in this production, takes succor in the wine flask, Edmonton native Jamie Cavanagh as the over-the-top Mercutio (which worked!), Nick Abraham as Tybalt.

It’s a broad, brawling production that moves easily between its intimate moments and its crowd scenes at their choreographed best. It captures just about all Shakespeare has to offer in this his most beloved play.

There are times when the dialogue moves too quickly for contemporary ears to catch the words written in arcane form from four centuries ago.  But that’s fine – sit back, let the words cascade over and through you as a waterfall – as if in another language yet with rhythm and cadence and beauty so meaning does shine through.  And the most famous lines … Well they reel you back in to the particular action in front of you.

Still, I am still left wondering … how would the other Juliet have fared? Would she have taken this show from an A to an A-plus? But as Rose Napoli was not on stage opening night, the opening night audience will never know.