Romeo & Juliet Review Shakespeare's Globe 2009

Genre: Drama
Opened 30 April 2009
Written: by William Shakespeare
Directed: Dominic Dromgoole
Cast: Adetomiwa Edun (Romeo), Ellie Kendrick (Juliet)

What the popular press had to say.....
NICK CURTIS for THE EVENING STANDARD says, "What's missing, finally, is the passion. The lovers are believable and authentic: their love, sadly, isn't quite." CHARLES SPENCER for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "Dominic Dromgoole's brisk, unfussy production...kept me hooked almost throughout...But it is for the beautiful sincerity of the young lovers - mischievous, tender and grieving - that this production will be best remembered." MICHAEL COVENEY for THE INDEPENDENT says, "There's a pleasing athleticism to Adetomiwa Edun's Romeo, but he's fuzzy-voiced and emotionally monotonous...His Juliet is equally inexperienced, a prim little speedy lapwing in Ellie Kendrick's performance who's neither girlish nor sexually adolescent...they're miscast here." LYN GARDNER for THE GUARDIAN says, "But for all its initial urgency, and a beautifully staged ball scene where the young lovers first catch each other's eye, this evening, like a great many love affairs, simply peters out." DOMINIC MAXWELL for THE TIMES says, "Adetomiwa Edun, as Romeo, is 25 but doesn't look it. Ellie Kendrick, as Juliet...looks as close to Juliet's real age of 13...The contrast between their callow idealism and the adult mores that crush them makes Dromgoole's production a refreshing reading of the text. All it needs, to seal the deal, is the passion between the leads that would make their love look like more than infatuation." SARAH HEMMMING for THE FINANCIAL TIMES says, "While both [Adetomiwa Edun & Ellie Kendrick] deliver the verse well, neither can quite reach the lyrical heights they need. More importantly, they can't convey the tragic weight of their fate. Their reactions to terrible news are underwhelming. They don't make you weep for them. And this is the main weakness in a production that is otherwise lively, clear and peppered with witty touches." LISA CHILDS for THE STAGE says, "Gripping and fresh."

External links to full reviews from popular press
The Guardian
Daily Telegraph
The Independent
The Times
Financial Times

Production photos by John Haynes