Romeo & Juliet - Duke of York's Theatre

[Marwood]

Went past the Duke of York’s last night and couldn’t believe the amount of people waiting on the opposite side of the road on the off chance of being able to take a crappy picture of Spider-Man for gods sake, why are they getting so excited?

[marob]

Jul 12, 2024 19:04:28 GMT Marwood said:

Went past the Duke of York’s last night and couldn’t believe the amount of people waiting on the opposite side of the road on the off chance of being able to take a crappy picture of Spider-Man for gods sake, why are they getting so excited?

I saw them all on Saturday. I knew people waited, but didn’t realise how many. Standing outside the Coliseum, phones in the air recording. He hadn’t even come out yet.

I thought he only comes out, waves and gets in a car.

[wefox]

If anyone wants/can watch the show on the 31st of July (19:30), I wouldn’t mind selling you my ticket for face value. Upper Circle A20 (restricted view)

Won’t be in London long enough to watch all the shows that I want, and would be grateful for an extra empty slot

[Penny]

Cancelled tonight @ 16.50 due to illness ! We went and saw Dolly instead

[sandeep]

Jul 5, 2024 15:09:45 GMT mattnyc said:

The other night the couple next to me didn’t come back anfter the interval and I noticed some other empty seats in the RC before the start of act two, as well. Applause at the end was VERY muted and the standing ovation (as expected) was begrudgingly done so people could see the stage and really not for lack of excitement - and yes I looked carefully as I was fascinated by people’s reactions.

This is just a boring retread of things Lloyd has already done. It’s like he took his “Sunset” script (which was already a lot of things he’d done previously) and just replaced the names and kept all the schtick the same. It was tired and really it’s time to say goodbye to these “minimalist” shows that charge £200 for what’s essentially a reading of the script with fog and some cameras.

Agree with this. Adored Sunset Blvd, the Effect and Seagull, but Romeo and Juliet felt like all of Jamie Lloyds greatest directorial hits into one. It ran too long and quite dull rather than sexy and tense. Thought the fight scenes were a copout. Wanted to see some Spidey in swashbuckling action.

[ilovewemusicals]

Was this back on tonight?

[claireyfairy1]

Jul 12, 2024 19:04:28 GMT Marwood said:

Went past the Duke of York’s last night and couldn’t believe the amount of people waiting on the opposite side of the road on the off chance of being able to take a crappy picture of Spider-Man for gods sake, why are they getting so excited?

As someone who fangirled a lot in my youth, it's almost impossible to explain, but there's excitement in seeing your fave in person. Especially if you've never done it before. I stood outside that exact same theatre for hours, almost 20 years ago, just to be at the front of the crowd to get a signature on my programme from Orlando Bloom. It was as crazy then as it is for Tom Holland today. In the years since, I have gotten older and much more blasé about seeing actors I really love in person, but I still remember the fun of doing the stage door, going to Q&As and events, etc!

[iwanttix]

Bit short notice, but put tickets for this Friday on the noticeboard if anyone wanted them

[theatrefan77]

Jul 17, 2024 16:36:44 GMT iwanttix said:

Bit short notice, but put tickets for this Friday on the noticeboard if anyone wanted them

I’ve just sent you a PM about this

[harryb1]

Interval thoughts: it's... different! Having seen Sunset Boulevard back in December I was familiar with Jamie Lloyd's style. Elements like the whispering/mics didn't always work. Holland gives it his all but is miscast; the name sells I suppose!

[fclou]

I thought Freema was great

[Being Alive]

Jul 20, 2024 15:48:27 GMT fclou said:

I thought Freema was great

She's the best thing in it.

[prefab]

Just got back from this afternoon's matinee, and I had mixed feelings about it. Then again, I have mixed feelings about Romeo and Juliet in general; I think it contains some of Shakespeare's best lines, but also some of his sloppiest plotting and least vivid characterization. At its best, the Jamie Lloyd house style works to produce a kind of visual poetry that compliments the material; I was especially struck by a speech that Tom Holland's Romeo delivers to the magnified video projection of Juliet, virtually (but not actually) laying beside him.

But some of Lloyd's stylistic quirks just don't work. He drains some key scenes of action, with actors simply standing in a row facing the audience. And in the second half, both Romeo and Juliet seem so glum throughout, it's hard to recall the brief romantic moments in the first half when they actually felt alive. So their death felt less like a tragedy and more like a relief. I also think neither actor seemed remotely like a teenager, which is the only way the play makes sense to me as a tragic story--if it's about two impetuous adolescents who feel things too deeply and act too rashly. While Francesca Amewudah-Rivers and Tom Holland each gave strong performances at times, they didn't convey that hormonal adolescent quality at all.

[zephyrus]

Very strange audience response to this last night. From the start, it felt like everyone was being super-attentive and engaged (for the most part.) But the response at the end of Act 1 was what I would call "muted"... and, at the end, there wasn't much of a standing ovation. I was sitting halfway back in the stalls, and only about 3 or 4 people sitting in the front half of the stalls got on their feet; everyone was just applauding politely. That wasn't what I was expecting.

[blamerobots]

Jul 26, 2024 15:44:49 GMT zephyrus said:

Very strange audience response to this last night. From the start, it felt like everyone was being super-attentive and engaged (for the most part.) But the response at the end of Act 1 was what I would call "muted"... and, at the end, there wasn't much of a standing ovation. I was sitting halfway back in the stalls, and only about 3 or 4 people sitting in the front half of the stalls got on their feet; everyone was just applauding politely. That wasn't what I was expecting.

As this production goes on and on I'm hearing this more and more; word of mouth has definitely not been kind to this.

I think the early SO must have been almost in confusion, like was that good and I didn't get it or am I hallucinating?? I also think there's less Holland fans seeing it and now we're transitioning into a more general audience so reviews are going to cool down regardless.

[Rory]

It's a very boring and confusing production which has ripped off the majority of its audiences with its outrageous pricing system.

I had a really fraught morning up a ski slope with dodgy wifi in February trying to get this booked with ATG's ridiculous random queue and had I known what it was going to be like, I certainly wouldn't have bothered!

[chess]

Saw this for the second time last week. The first time I thought it was ok. But I am not that interested in shakespeare. This time I came better prepared having dived into the story and history of the play. I can definitely understand the choices of the director. The whole performance was much tighter and Tom Holland was excellent.
This is a good production. People should take in account that this is shakespeare with the original text and the focus is on the text. So it was never supposed to be an easy evening.

[Talisman]

Is Shakespeare meant to be difficult ?

It is true that one needs to concentrate and focus but no more so in much serious drama.

[David J]

This coming from a shakespeare fan.

Whatever gets a person hooked to not just shakespeare but to an author, medium or whatever in life will differ from person to person.

Shakespeare of course has the perceived language barrier to get over. I myself was beguiled by the language from an early age when an acting troupe did a bitesized macbeth at school. I got home and got the complete works down from the shelf.

But I wasn't converted yet because of not understanding every word. I saw an amateur production of macbeth, midsummer nights dream. Watched some films. But I had the notion that I can not understand everything that's going on.

But i wasn't hooked until I saw Michael Boyds Henry VI trilogy in 2006 during tye complete works festival. Yes I went into the deep end rather than seeing something like Patrick Stewart in The Tempest. But me and my mum thought this is rarely put on so why not. Admittedly I went in, and later Shakespeare productions with a dorling kindersley book that gave a great synopsis, scene for scene. Had it open in my lap to keep track with what's going on (which with the Henry VI trilogy is kinda advisable)

The production had me hooked. Great acting, direction, style, fighting, choreography, visuals. So much in those productions that had me transfixed with plays that are not Shakespeares best. And then the same company did the entire 8 play history cycle and we came back to Stratford each time and by next year I had seen all eight. And then we were coming back to Stratford for more shakespeare

The point is a shakespeare production can be anything. It can be traditional, straight, modern, stylistic whatever. But when it comes down to it, and this does not apply to shakespeare but any renowned pieces of theatre, it is the role of the director and by extension the cast and everyone involved to bring the text to life and make it clear to the audience.

And you're not going to convert everybody. I like Chekhov as well but I've tried The Seagull several times now and I just think it's not for me. Don't get what's so great about it.

Yes there's a certain degree of interpretation going on. Yes one can change the setting and put a radical spin on it. Rupert Goulds Merchant of Las Vegas comes tonmind. But it starts with understanding the text and putting it and your ideas clearly to the audience and the potential new Shakespeare fans.

[merrilywereadalong]

ufff.....man, this was PAINFUL.

I say this as the biggest Jamie Lloyd fangirl who saw Sunset Boulevard five times, LOVED his Evita in the park and adored his Cyrano but good lord this was a not a match. I don't know what play he was trying to put on but it certainly wasn't what Shakespeare intended. Right off the bat with Benvolio and the other guy whispering in the most absurdly moody monotony, I knew we were in trouble. I get that it's a tragedy but this production was blistered from the get go wringing itself of any single trace of joy, sexiness or fun. Playing the party scene as some macabre, haunted mansion gathering was...a choice. I've never seen Mercutio have that little effect or come off with that much of a dud (and to no fault of the actor. It was clear he was just directed to be as personality-less as humanly possible) all of this adding up to just uninvestment and left me bored as hell for I'd say 80% of the night.
Having little to no opinion of Tom Holland I'm pretty taken aback to say I thought he was the best (if only?) good part of the evening. But I bought the innocence and naivety of his torment. I bought how quickly he plunges into love with her (which, I can't say the same for the actress playing Juliet) I thought the balcony scene was by far the best part and you could FEEL the tension and contrast of the actors playing the scene naturally as it's written with the clear misdirection they've been giving. My heart went out to them because you can see the peieces are there for a great R&J and there are glimpses (I don't know why but I really am a sucker for how he uses fog and spacing out the actors on a bare stage....idk why i find it so effective but i do lol) and the camera bits, while not the most successful didn't bother me nearly as much as just the seemingly ENDLESS stretches of dialogue delivered out...at...a.........pace......like.....**whispers** thisssssss

just a capital S sloggg and a real shame because it's a great company of actors who are game. Hopefully they're given a better matched director next time

2 stars

[theatremiss]

I’m not sure if I can post this here, so please delete if not allowed. I have just returned 2 tickets to the box office for Thu eve, stalls row F. Be quick you may be lucky

[Dr Tom]

Jul 30, 2024 10:26:15 GMT theatremiss said:

I’m not sure if I can post this here, so please delete if not allowed. I have just returned 2 tickets to the box office for Thu eve, stalls row F. Be quick you may be lucky

£295!

[theatremiss]

Jul 30, 2024 10:35:50 GMT Dr Tom said:

Jul 30, 2024 10:26:15 GMT theatremiss said:

I’m not sure if I can post this here, so please delete if not allowed. I have just returned 2 tickets to the box office for Thu eve, stalls row F. Be quick you may be lucky

£295!

I didn’t pay that as I got it when the tix first went on sale. Dynamic pricing during last week of the production

[Dr Tom]

Good news is dynamic pricing has kicked in since I looked earlier. Get in quick and they’re discounted to £250.

[dsrnyc]

Didn't even realize it closed, wanted to know what Tom's bio said. Doesn't anyone have it?