Bilingual Shakespeare adds a new dimension to timeless love story

REVIEW: Romeo a Juliet at Sherman Theatre

A new bilingual production of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy has opened in Cardiff this week.

We were at last night's (Wednesday 1 October) press night for Romeo a Juliet, which will make history next month, when the Welsh language will be heard for the first time on stage at Shakespeare's Globe.

For this is a bilingual, English and Welsh, production of the timeless love story, produced by Theatr Cymru. 

Under Steffan Donnelly's skilful direction, Romeo a Juliet cleverly weaves the original Shakespearean English with J. T. Jones's Welsh translation, bringing an interesting new approach to the divisions in medieval Verona between Romeo's Welsh-speaking Montagues and Juliet's English-speaking Capulets.

Isabella Colby Browne, an American actress, who grew up in North Wales, is particularly impressive as Juliet - initially only speaking English, but using more Welsh, as she grows closer to her lover, played by Steffan Cennydd, who revels in Romeo's complex mix of sensitivity and impulsiveness.

An equally talented supporting cast includes Imad Eldeen, Siôn Eifion, Scott Gutteridge, Llinor ap Gwynedd, Owain Gwynn, Gabin Kongolo, Michelle McTernan, Jonathan Nefydd, and Eiry Thomas.

Elin Steele's outstanding set design provides a simple, yet supremely versatile backdrop to the action (there is a lot of action) and even an on-stage rain storm, and her costumes hit just the right spot - more-or-less modern, yet somehow almost timeless.

Kudos for the action - a lot of fighting, a bit of dancing, and of course, some loving - goes to movement director, Catherine Alexander, and fight director and intimacy coordinator, Ruth Cooper-Brown.

Overall, this is a very accomplished and entertaining production of the familiar tale, with plenty of well-handled laughs in the first act before the unfolding of the inevitable tragedy after the interval.

The use of two languages certainly adds something new - at a time when our society seems more polarised than ever, it's a stark reminder of how language can divide people as well as unite them.

For those of us who don't speak Welsh, there are surtitles, and I should mention there's age guidance of 12+ because, well, it's Shakespeare, so expect violence, murder, suicide, and sex.

Romeo a Juliet continues at the Sherman until Saturday (3 October). You can find out more and order tickets online here or from the box office on 029 2064 6900. It then visits Brecon, Aberystwyth, Bangor, Mold, and Llanelli on a four-week tour of Wales, before its historic run at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse - the indoor theatre space in The Globe, London (5-8 November).

Review by Andy Weltch

Photos by Marc Brenner

We received free tickets for this performance in exchange for an honest review