Tom Holland returns to the stage

Tom Holland and Francesca Amioda Rivers in “Romeo and Juliet”

Mark Brenner

There was a lot of heat around New London Romeo Julietwhich is understandable given the pairing with director Jamie Lloyd (betrayal, Doll house), known for its radical remakes of classics, usually around A-list actors, with young international star Tom Holland. The latter returns to the stage for the first time since then Billy Elliot: The Musical At the beginning of his career, his name sold out in just two hours.

It’s ironic, then, that the only thing this production itself lacks is heat—romantic, dramatic, and tragic heat. There is much to commend, but it suffers from one strategic error on the director’s part, which is silencing the action, quite literally, as much of it is played out in whispers and mumbles; Even with a mic, sometimes the actors are barely audible. The result is that this story of fierce family rivalry and courageous love has been stripped of its excitement, danger and romance, and its urgency is replaced with a pervasive sadness.

At first glance, loud club music blares out on a bare stage with only the barest of monochromatic trimmings; Actors wear black uniforms (t-shirts, hoodies, shoes); And having the microphone stand up – it looks as if this is going to go the same way as the great Lloyd’s Cyrano de Bergerac: Contemporary, youthful, dynamic. However, that play showed James McAvoy’s Serrano as a master of the battle rap. Once this song starts playing, the beats are replaced by an industrial hum, and the tempo and tempo are completely different.

The biggest casualty of this approach is the star role. For the most part, Romeo Holland is a defeated, tearful, weak, and disappointing fellow; It’s hard to see why Juliet would go to such lengths for him. When the boy explodes into life—literally a few moments of wild excitement—it feels forced. While Holland can show off his puppy-like sweetness and polished Spider-Man decorum, he certainly has a better Romeo than this.

By contrast, this deserves to be a star-making turn for Francesca Amodah Rivers, who has triumphed over the torrent of online racist abuse she received while acting. Actress known in the United Kingdom for television work including Bad educationBut with the transformation of Shakespeare’s theater Macbeth And Othello, Brilliant, Juliet is the spiky, self-aware, fiercely independent pulse of the production.

While other actors (and their characters) are diminished by Lloyd’s low-key passages, Amewudah-Rivers always manages to soar, with more emotion, whether quarrel, spleen or hilarity. Romeo is completely in control of Juliet, while the scenes between Juliet and her father Capulet (Tomiwa Idun) – a couple who are at odds over her resistance to the marriage he has arranged for her – are brutal and compelling.

Alongside Edun, there’s also excellent support from Freema Agyeman as the nurse, at first wonderfully funny (and offering some of the purely Shakespearean verve that’s lacking around her) and then bringing the character’s own tragedy as she counsels her own heart; And Friar Michael Balogun, who lends it Supernatural More than the usual material.

There’s no way Lloyd could deliver a lackluster production. The minimalist aesthetic is further developed and enhanced by the presence of two camera operators, whose live images are projected onto a screen dominating the back of the stage. Sometimes they follow the actors as they move through the bowels of the stage, and at one point they catch Romeo smoking a cigarette on the roof; But it’s most telling when she delivers widescreen close-ups that really stand out — especially when everyone in the theater can see the tears of rage and dread streaming down Ameoah-Rivers’ cheeks, or when she declares, “If all else fails, I still have the power to die.” “

Although the use of cameras has become common, the most original tactic here is to remove all the key elements of the play’s defining scenes: the balcony from the engagement scene; the swords of the fateful battle between Tybald and Mercutio (everything we need to know is conveyed through a very effective jump scare); Poison and dagger in the final tragic confrontation. Without the props and physical movement to use, the focus is on the emotions during play, which is better for her.

Location: Duke of York’s Theatre, London
Starring: Tom Holland. Francesca Amodah-Rivers, Freema Agyeman, Michael Balogun, Tumiwa Edun, Danielle Quinn-Toye, Ray Sesay, Nima Taleqani, Joshua-Alexander Williams.
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Director: Jamie Lloyd
Set and Costume Designer: Soutra Gilmore
Lighting designer: John Clark
Music: Michael “Mickey G” Assanti
Sound Designers: Ben and Max Ringham
Video Designers and Cinematographers: Nathan Amzee and Joe Ransom
Text editor: Nima Taleqani
Provided by Jimmy Lloyd