Romeo and Juliet at Stratford East Theatre Review
Romeo and Juliet production. Photo by Charlie Flint.
Written by Jasmine for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
This collaboration between the youth and community companies of Stratford East and the youth company at Sadler’s Wells shows how invested both theatres are in creating the best possible opportunity for everyone involved. There was an incredible amount of talent onstage, and it could not have been better supported by the amazing set, costume, and huge audience - all wearing aps or Montague badges that match bar and taco bar, each respectively runs in the show.
Placing the story clearly in a modern day business rivalry worked perfectly for this production - opening and closing shutters to show one or both at a time, and creating lots of space in front and above for party scenes, which feel completely natural to their setting. It could easily be London today. Creating a space where these party scenes make sense also leaves lots of space for the Sadler’s Wells young company dancers to create these beautiful moments of unison in large group scenes, and for there to be a mirror of Romeo and Juliet in their scenes together, whose dances are some of the most beautiful parts of the show.
When these dancers and actors were working together, it created some of the most beautiful moments of the show, which reflects the excellent direction and adaptation of Kwame Owusu and Emily Ling Williams, who make the forms meld seamlessly, and the pitch perfect choreography of Malik Nashad Sharpe. The way dance was incorporated let us into the characters’ imaginations, creating moments like the imagined wedding where they have the support of their families, which were so moving to watch, and made the rest of the play so much more impactful.
The actors’ performances were all excellent, and in every moment, you could feel that they were enjoying the show - there was so much fun incorporated into the story, and if there was an opportunity to have a lighter moment, it was rarely missed. It made you like the characters all the more, and as the play enters the tragic fallout of the love story, the loss of this lightness brings home the loss at the heart of the story. Romeo and Juliet really do feel like two teenagers that should have been saved, and the horror of the ending, the parents grief, is made more shocking by how quickly the end unfolds, how unable the adults were to stop it.
This production was an example of how brilliant collaborative shows can be, and how you can use the large casts that community companies and youth companies offer to really build a world onstage. I can’t wait to see what everyone involved does next!
Romeo and Juliet plays at Stratford East until 09 August 2025
★ ★ ★ ★
