One of the world’s most famous stories of love and tragedy came to Argentina on May 7th 2019. Our beloved Romeo and Juliet was on stage at the Metropolitan Sura theatre, directed by James Murray and produced by Gabriel García. It was presented by an Argentinian group that performs shows in English. Despite being a classical play, and a clear piece of art in literature, the show is not worth seeing.
Scenography & Costume design
The play lacks any kind of scenography. With just a grey wall in the background that serves for all the sets, it is really difficult for the audience to feel connected to the story. Sometimes it is hard to understand where the scene is happening. Moreover, as if it weren’t enough, the clothing is not much better at all. The actors wear costumes out of context that do not relate to the character they are portraying. Romeo, for example, uses a jean and a white t-shirt, that does not demostrate the riches his family possesses.
Actors’ “recycling”
For a play that involves a vast amount of roles, the group only has five actors. This leads to most of them being used as more than one character. The audience may feel confused because of their poor performance that do not make easy understanding what is going on. However, it deserves to be mentioned Francisco Ortiz’s successful role as three completely different characters: Mercutio, Juliet’s mother and the prince’s companion.
Book vs play
If you have read the book, the play will surely be a disappointment. Many iconic scenes have been taken out, and if you don’t know the plot of the play before going to watch it, it is really difficult to understand it. An example is the Capuletto’s party: it doesn’t have the quality of a celebration at all. It has very few people on stage and the scene is too short.
All in all, the play was a fiasco for anyone who had high expectations of it. There are many versions of Romeo and Juliet on TV, and the theatre is always full of quality shows, so it is highly recommended not going to watch this play unless you want to have 70 minutes of boredom.
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