Romeo & Juliet , Sunday 24th January, 2010

Romeo & Juliet - Performed by the Theatre Anglais Paris, Adapted and Directed by Daniel Soulier Sunday 24th January, 2010

Georges Delnon is the resident director at Theatre Basel, Elizabthenstrasse. As part of this year's English Abo Season, Delnon with his wonderful team at the Schauspielhaus, have put together a wide ranging and attractive programme including four plays in English, an opera and a ballet. Three of the plays are adaptations from the great quill of 16^th Century bard himself, William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon.  One of his most famous plays is beautifully staged in the round and in contemporary idiom by the young outfit “Theatre en Anglais of Paris”. Romeo & Juliet is performed by just three actor, Gala Besson, Anthony Hicking and Steven Shagov. Adapted and skillfully directed by Daniel Soulier, the three actors manage to combine the philosophy of names and the vagaries of apothecary. The Capulets were represented in the guise  of Juliet in her nightgown, and the Montagues by a diminutive Romeo with stars in his eyes.  The loving, fretting and tipsy nurse, the pensive friar and Mr Capulet, who turns out to be a very nasty piece of work, were all played by Steven with imaginative use of costumes, hats and wigs. The equally effective use of an adaptable wooden platform with raised pallets, supporting poles, silhouette drapes and glorious lighting, transported us through the action. In some scenes players entered or disappeared off stage ringing a familiar bell whilst clutching the handle bars of a bicycle!  What we see is a sharp, modern production, cleanly capturing the breath of desire, as we follow the the true essence of a love story. Heartfelt.