Branagh Theatre Live: Romeo and Juliet

Kenneth Branagh's Romeo & Juliet, broadcast from the Garrick Theater, London, a performance recorded summer, 2016. A lot of bad ideas. No single one of them would have killed it but the concatenation drove me out of the theater. It isn't necessarily a terrible idea to update the production to the 1950s (after all, what else is West Side Story?). It seems unnecessary to try to make the production visually reminiscent of an Italian film, but I might have gone along if the effect had been persuasive. Snippets of dialog in Italian, okay (but why bother?). Song and dance numbers, again, we've already got West Side Story in the repertory. Casting one of Romeo's posse with a very much older actor than the others: I don't reject it. Folks of different generations can indeed be friends.

The problem was that it was Derek Jacobi, and he was determined to be irrepressible. Branagh evidently lacks the directorial gravitas to be able to say to an actor of that standing, "Stop that. Stop doing that. Stop doing that, too. Tone that bit down, the line is good enough without so much mugging."

The production might have survived all the above but two further errors exasperated this listener. The first was that the telecast of the performance was preceded by 10 or 12 minutes of pre-taped interviews with contemporary London teenagers, asking them questions about the play itself and about what life as a teenager is like. The purpose of this was ham-handedly to remind the audience that the title characters are very young. But surely that is the business of the actors?

The other irritant was the decision that the telecast should be in black and white. Obviously the live audience, in the theatre, were not seeing the play in black and white. The sets and costumes could not be equally effective for an audience seeing them in color and a simulcast audience seeing them in black and white. The idea was artsy and artificial, and it never became clear (to this viewer) what the effect was supposed to be.

I stayed through the love scene, curiously devoid of romantic appeal, and fled quietly.

Meera Syal demonstrated once more that the role of the Nurse is the best part in the play.

This production had great potential from the very beginning. 'Romeo and Juliet' is another one of Shakespeare's best, most iconic and most quotable plays. Have always liked Kenneth Branagh as an actor and director, and am a long term admirer of his Shakespeare interpretations ever since seeing his wonderful 'Much Ado About Nothing' in school. It was also great to see Richard Madden and Lily James back together after triumphing in 'Cinderella' (one of the few Disney live-action remakes worth watching), also directed by Branagh.

Actually liked this production of 'Romeo and Juliet' more than the previous reviewer did respectfully. It is a different interpretation, for the setting, an older Mercutio and Capulet that seems to be in constant anger throughout, but an interesting one. The staging was a bit uneven for me and did prefer Branagh's quite magical production of 'The Winter's Tale' from the previous year that was also broadcast live at cinemas, but this 'Romeo and Juliet' still managed to be very well performed and moving enough.

Branagh's 'Romeo and Juliet' is imperfect in my view. Not all the characterisation works, Juliet is too knowing and mature too soon that stops Juliet from evolving from an inexperienced child to wife believably and strips her of her later vulnerability somewhat. Found Capulet for my tastes too much of a brute for no real reason and Michael Rouse came over as too histrionic and constantly angry in the role.

Did find the staging of the balcony scene a little underwhelming, with Romeo spending most of the scene with his back turned to Juliet the romance struck me as too distant.

Madden however is a youthful and passionate Romeo, with an ardour and appealing brashness. James matches him very well in an equally passionate and charming performance that never falls into passiveness, she is incredibly touching in the latter stages. While the balcony scene disappoints due to the stage direction their chemistry is fresh and immensely likeable, their love obvious later on. It has also some nice humour, like with Juliet's giddiness and Mercutio's sarcasm and witticisms. Two other acting standouts are Derek Jacobi and Neera Syal. Jacobi is much older than the conventional Mercutios, and did seem like improbable casting on paper, but is every bit as loyal and amusing with a dapper touch, his decades old experience in Shakespeare is very obvious in his clear understanding and embodying of the text. His account of the Queen Mab speech is one of the more interesting takes of that particular part of the play. Syal is a lot of fun as the Nurse and steals all her scenes. Ansu Kabia is a charismatic and menacing Tybalt and Samuel Valentine is a noble and wise Friar Laurence (younger than most though).

Furthermore, the production is well made on a visual level. It may not be a traditional production, but actually liked very much its decadent yet alluring mix of 'West Side Story' and 'La Dolce Vita' in the set design and atmosphere. The costumes aren't a stylistic mishmash like other non-traditional productions for plays (and opera and ballet) and there is a sense of time and place, they fit the period and actually look appealing. The visuals in the Queen Mab speech, the beautifully lit tombs and the use of white lace stand out. Patrick Doyle's score is sumptuous and avoids being melodramatic or used too much. Shakespeare's text has all the emotion and flow that is necessary, and while not all the stage direction works much of it is tasteful and has the tension and emotional impact needed. The final scene is moving.

All in all, well done but not exceptional. 7/10

I saw it with significant reserves this version. Richard Madden was , for me, a little too older version of Romeo, in contrast with young Lilly James ( indeed, it was a Cinderella but, as pretty venerable teacher, for me, Shakespeare remains ...Shakespeare ), Mercutio is too old and Friar is too young.

But the result is just beautiful, poetic and more than decent and Kenneth Branagh touch is one of the causes.

The mix of West Side Story and humor just well works and few scenes are just profound inspired, like the spring air.

Beautiful sounds more than polite for define the performance and the careful work for each detail. Because Derek Jacobi experience playing Shakespeare has the precious gift to create a profound provocative - and pleasant - Mercutio. Because Richard Madden is total dedicated to role and the freshness of his acting is just good virtue for play. Because Kenneth Branagh perspective , some eccentric, some interesting, pretty provocative is not the worst manner to see Romeo and Juliet.

Let me preface my review for the 2016 live production of Romeo and Juliet by declaring that I am absolutely not the target audience for it. I did everything I could to get out of studying Shakespeare in school (both in English and drama classes), and I've never since learned to appreciate it. Among his works, Romeo and Juliet might be my worst. I'm very sorry, but I hate it. Why would I sit through three hours of a live, very stylized production of it? For love of Lily James. She won me (and everyone else) over during Downton Abbey in 2012, and in the following decade, she proved that leaving the franchise was the not the breaking of her - but the making of her! Before reaching the tender age of thirty-five, she's tackled Jane Austen, Daphne du Maurier, Shakespeare, and Tolstoy. She's mimicked the mannerisms of Meryl Streep, Joan Fontaine, Anne Baxter, and Pamela Anderson. She's been directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh twice (once would be honor enough), and in comedies, dramas, period pieces, and musicals, acted alongside A-tier actors: Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Jim Broadbent, Pierce Brosnan, Bradley Cooper, Tom Courtenay, Ralph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Carey Mulligan, Gary Oldman, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Sarsgaard, Maggie Smith, Meryl Streep, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Emma Thompson. I'm so proud of her versatility, and beyond happy for her success.

Alright, I'm done with my fan letter. Now you know why I sat through Shakespeare to see her play the beautiful, ill-fated (and in my opinion, stupid) Juliet. I was very pleased with her performance, and hopefully her director was, too. If you've read my reviews, you know that I've frequently called Shakespearean a foreign language, one which I can't often decipher. When lovely Lily opened her mouth, I was able to understand about eighty percent of what she said - high praise! She had vivacious energy, irresistible innocence, and incredible passion.

As for the production, you should know what you're getting into. Although filmed live, it's in black-and-white, which is a bit odd, since you're constantly aware that the audience is able to watch the actors in living color. It's a modernized setting, with suits, skinny ties, and knee-length dresses. Between scene changes, jazz music plays and the actors frolic about. Randomly, people will ad-lib Italian (not interfering with the written dialogue) to remind you that it takes place in Verona. If you can get past all that, you can watch Richard Madden as a handsome and sweet Romeo, Derek Jacobi as a devoted Mercutio (a cute casting choice, since, if you really think about it, he could be an older friend of the family rather than a contemporary), and a cast who obviously loves Shakespeare far more than I do.