Siobhan Godwood checks out Cambridge Arts Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet
From the first moments of The Marlowe production of Romeo and Juliet, as the cast move in unison to the pounding Spanish beats, you get a sense of energy and dynamism that permeates the entire play. Set in 1930s Spain, the production’s atmosphere is dark and moody, and you can almost feel the stifling heat rising from the pavements as the familiar characters dance, fight, laugh, cry and fall in love. Oh yes, and smoke… there’s a LOT of smoking.
The Marlowe is one of Cambridge University’s oldest student drama societies, dedicated to producing verse, Elizabethan and non-realist plays. Every year they put on a major play at the Arts Theatre. This means that the actors are all students, which lends a youth and energy that’s very appropriate to the themes and central characters of Romeo and Juliet.
This production is also interestingly gender-blind, with traditionally male roles, including the Prince and Mercutio, taken on by women. The entire cast was excellent, but special mention should go to Avigail Tlalim, who played Nurse with a complex blend of pathos and comedy, and Megan Gilbert as Lady Capulet, who’s depiction of the paradoxical maternal emotions of love and hate belies her youth.
The show runs until 27 January and tickets are £18-28.
cambridgeartstheatre.com
