'Romeo and Juliet' review — this fresh, energetic take on a classic is an excellent start to the summer theatre season

Read our review of Romeo and Juliet, starring Rawaed Asde and Lola Shalam, now in performances at Shakespeare's Globe to 2 August.

An unexpected hot spell coincided with the opening of the first al fresco production of the year – which happens to be Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s heatwave of teenage passion and recklessness. Sean Holmes’s nifty production is set in the Wild West of the 19th century, where everyday violence pervades, and he also extracts the full comic potential of the play. The tragedy isn’t inevitable and things could have worked out very differently with more effective communication methods.

The Globe’s open space lends itself best to displays of showmanship, and there’s something about cowboys, ranchers and desperadoes that’s intrinsically performative with their posturing displays of masculinity that’s tinged with camp (accentuated by Paul Wills’s costumes). As the resident authority figure, Dharmesh Patel’s Prince is dapper and Errol Flynn-esque (Patel also doubles amusingly as the long-suffering servant Peter), while there’s something prissy about Joe Reynolds’s unwanted suitor Paris, and Calum Callaghan’s Tybalt is streaked with thuggishness.

There’s a sense of attempts to maintain “civilisation” in a remote outpost – the Capulets’ party involves staid square dancing until the Montagues shake things up (Romeo and Juliet then fall for each other while dancing a gentle two-step). Grant Olding’s score features bluegrass and country influences and leans towards impressionistic, like part of the landscape.

In his own little world, newcomer Rawaed Asde (who joined the production as a replacement) gives a standout performance as a Romeo who’s wonderfully natural and unaffected despite being as performative as the other men in his way, with his fantasy of being in love. Asde speaks beautifully and nails the character’s impulsiveness, suggesting a young actor to watch.

Fellow newcomer Lola Shalam is also eye-catching as Juliet, a strong-willed frontier girl who has been coached in what to say and feel but can’t contain her outspoken nature. In her interactions with Romeo, she is consistently the one challenging him. It’s clear that she comes from a tradition of no-nonsense women: Jamie-Rose Monks is splendid as a hearty Nurse who scarcely lets anyone else get a word in edgewise and Léa des Garets is a brisk but concerned Lady Capulet.

The elegant Michael Elcock gives a striking performance as the nattily attired Mercutio, the dandy of the frontier, and Roman Asde’s Benvolio has excellent banter with his friends. John Lightbody makes a snakily charismatic Friar Laurence and Colm Gormley is a folksy Lord Capulet whose bonhomie can quickly turn lethal, pointing a gun at his daughter when she refuses to marry the suitor of his choice.

With plenty of energy and comic flair and a highly engaging ensemble cast, this production is fun and fresh take on a classic that everyone knows something about. An excellent start to the summer theatre season.

Romeo and Juliet is at Shakespeare's Globe to 2 August. Book Romeo and Juliet tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photo credit: Romeo and Juliet (Photos by Tristram Kenton)