Ophaboom Theatre Company, Romeo and Juliet

Review in Issue 7-3 | Autumn 1995

There is no doubt that a true comedy of errors was created in this collision between William Shakespeare and Ophaboom Theatre Company's rendition of Romeo and Juliet. A Commedia dell'Arte experience that changed any perceptions the audience may have had about expecting an elevated theatrical staging of the work, it was played in the true honest spirit of street theatre, and certainly felt as if it caught some of the essence of Shakespearean times.

It was a show which shone in its quality as it was performed in blistering heat to an audience that was gently ‘warmed up’ throughout by the company's exuberant style and spontaneity of performance.

Regularly and intuitively turning to the audience, developing a unique sense of fun and subtle moments of humour, the tragic love story unfolded, lending itself more to manic satire and boorish melodrama than to any academically interpreted performance of Shakespeare.

It was this feel that gave the company its edge, an edge that was further explored by minor characters swapping roles with chaotic abandon. Ophaboom are a company with strong physical and visual appeal and are sure to increase from strength to strength wherever they perform.

Topics
Presenting Artists
Site

Victoria Embankment Gardens

Date Seen
  1. Jun 1995

This article in the magazine

Issue 7-3
p. 24