Juliet came across as an intelligent, clever young woman, which I really liked. She wasn’t just falling in love with him—she was also trying to figure out, in a practical way, how they could be together.
Mercutio was very charming and playful, and the Nurse had a strong presence. On stage, there’s sometimes a clock, and then suddenly time rewinds to an earlier moment when something in the story “fails”—for example, when Juliet doesn’t meet with Romeo at the party. Time goes back, a waitress bumps into someone, and Juliet and Romeo end up meeting instead. This emphasises that things aren’t really destiny, but more like coincidence.
I wasn’t that entertained during the first half, it felt like watching a piped-down Icke in the NT, but in the ending of the second half, he did great work. A minute before Romeo takes the poison, Juliet’s hand comes so close to holding his. He drinks the poison and kisses her.
And have you ever seen this kind of direction before? Juliet kisses him back—without a word. Did Romeo realise? Or did he think he was already in heaven?
That moment was heartbreaking, even though I wasn’t particularly invested in their romance. Juliet makes a great plan, and it almost succeeds (if this were a Disney film, it definitely would). But just like how they met, they can’t live together—so close, yet so far.
Then Juliet sees the life she dreamed of: a younger version of herself running around, Romeo appearing with a baby, time passing as they grow older together, her father dying, and the two of them ageing side by side with silver hair. All she wanted was this peaceful life—and it disappears right in front of her.
We tend to expect more drastic changes from his direction, but this time he asks for more patience, saving everything for the final moment.
By the way, they spend a lot of time in front of the stage in this play, so I would recommend avoiding seats with a restricted view.
★★★★☆