Star-Cross*d puts a little too much work into reimagining Romeo and Juliet at the Golden Goose Theatre
“Haven’t I one friend left in this cruel world?”
There’s certainly no lack of ambition to BootleBird Productions’ Star-Cross*d, writer George Bootle offering a new perspective on the events of Romeo and Juliet. Whilst Shakespeare focuses on the room where it happens, Bootle often puts us in the room next door, asking what might be happening among the characters whose names aren’t in the original’s title. Writing largely in Elizabethan-style verse with bonus contemporary reference points aplenty, there’s a pleasing queering of the story too.
So Romeo and Mercutio are a couple, something Juliet’s fully onboard with. Friar Lawrence has major main character energy and is constantly plotting, even to get that crucial marriage of R&J together. Benvolio turns out to have main villain energy etc etc. Whilst Juliet might still declare her love for Romeo on an unseen balcony, our attention is instead on Angelica, her nurse, busying about in her room. We get to go to the masked ball but see it from a different angle. We even get to sit with the impatient guests at the doomed wedding ceremony. This really is fertile ground full of potential.
The reality though is a little haphazard. The first act balances most of its work well, establishing the concept and the context, utilising its devices and having something interesting to say about a story so familiar to us. Post-interval though, the play loses that driving intent and becomes much less effective as it meanders somewhat with overlong scenes, unnecessary character additions and a greater tonal confusion as constituent parts and individual acting styles really start to clash with each other.
I was allowed into an early performance in the run so it may well be that Lukas Rimkus’ production did start to address some of these issues with his enthusiastic young company. Ultimately, I think the play needs a good couple of passes more, to more clearly identify what it wants to do and refine its approach accordingly. For the abundance of ideas from Bootle and Rimkus is a most promising thing and as they learn how to be more selective (keep the medieval mop signs, no matter what!), they could well develop into ones to watch.
