Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Emma Austin.
Full of dark, performed outdoors, set in postwar Vienna, this is an accessible and picturesque take on ‘Romeo & Juliet‘
Written by Rachael Vassallo
Central Park, Malvern
Until 16th March, 2025
Tickets: https://www.melbourneshakespeare.com/romeo-juliet
Type: Shakespeare, Casual, Outdoors, Comedy
If You Liked: Shakespeare, Glenn Elston, Dark Magic
Statistically, there is a performance happening of Romeo and Juliet around the world every single day. Considered the greatest work in the English language and amongst the greatest love stories in history, Romeo and Juliet is the most studied work of literature outside of religious texts. Emma Austin‘s direction incorporates both traditional and contemporary flare into Romeo and Juliet, keeping the work fresh and relevant .
Marlena Thomson and Oliver Tapp play the challenging titular roles. Asher Griffith-Jones brings the comic relief in the role of Paris; playing a man no woman wanted to marry. Amanda Mckay seamlessly alternates between comic relief and tragic seriousness in the role of Nurse, and Karlis Zaid, plays a very warm Friar Laurence. During the performance I attended, the cast remained in character when two dogs happened to waltz on stage, incorporating the spontaneous nature of the production in their reactions.
Romeo & Juliet, Melbourne Shakespeare Company (2025). Photos by Sare Clarke
The performance space is wide and expansive, with two set pieces placed off-centre. Austin’s direction uses the spaces between to create rooms within a house, without having a physical set, which is very effective in this production. The space cleverly transforms, particularly from the masquerade ball scene where the setting seamlessly transforms into the setting into the battleground for Mercutio’s death. The famously tragic end though is where this physical distance needed to close. When Juliet fakes her death on her bed, and Romeo takes actual poison at a large distance from Juliet, the physical distance between Romeo and Juliet hinders the intimacy and romantic tension between them.
The versatility of Shakespeare allows creatives to move the setting and location without detriment to the plot. Austin’s production of Romeo and Juliet is set in in postwar Austria. Prior to the performance, (as with many productions by the MSC) we are treated to the performers interacting with the audience. Cast members handed out little booklets and passports written in both German and English, telling us these were our Ausweis (German word for identification documents), and we could be removed from the audience if we didnt provide them on request. While this provided context around the era and I enjoy the interactive nature of these outdoor performances, I found this insensitive, and think it would have greatly unnerved older members of my family. When performances choose to confront the recent past, they should do so with an understanding of trauma as this highlights a particularly difficult time for many ancestors who quickly boarded an ocean liner for Australia in this particular post-war setting.
(Leah Fitzgerald’s) vibrantly coloured costumes contrast brilliantly against the colour palette of the set.
Silvia Shao‘s set design reflects both postwar Vienna and the original setting of Verona. A white bed encased in white sheet curtains remains on stage throughout the entirety of the work, highlighting the tragic themes in the work, particularly during humerous scenes. Behind the bed stands a collapsed building archway, depicting the postwar devastation of Vienna, a structure that made the setting change feel believable. Leah Fitzgerald Quinn‘s costume design was reminiscent of Viennese high society, the vibrantly coloured costumes contrast brilliantly against the colour palette of the set.
Outdoor performances can make use of sunlight, something MSC is known to achieve. This performance only used natural lighting, with the sunset occurring at the climactic point Juliet takes her sleeping potion. This clever scheduling and timing brilliantly highlights a distinct shift in the atmosphere as well as the short, three-day time frame in which the story unfolds.
Much of the music used in the production is contemporary and well known. While Postwar Viennese music would have strengthened the Viennese setting, the music choice had audience members singing along, reinforcing the intimate and participatory nature of this outdoor staging. Melbourne Shakespeare Company’s Romeo and Juliet presents an interactive and engaging version of Shakespeare’s best known work.
Theatre Thought: Humour is often used to confront or process and process traumatic events. What steps do we need to take to ensure audience members are equipped with the necessary tools to take humour on board and explore the context of the adaptation?
Jacqueline Whiting as Tybalt. Photography by Sare Clarke
Director: Emma Austin
Musical Director: Natalie Calia
Costume Designer: Leah Fitzgerald-Quinn
Set Designer: Silvia Shao
Stage Manager: Stephanie Watson
Marketing Coordinator: Bridget Sweeney
Intimacy Coordinator: Annabelle Tudor
Producer: Michael Mack
Artistic Director: Jennifer Sarah Dean
Featuring: Amanda McKay as Nurse, Asher Griffith-Jones as Paris, Elyse Batson as Benvolio, Ethan Rutledge as Abraham, Isabelle Davis as Rosaline, Jacqueline Whiting as Tybalt, John Vizcay-Wilson as Mercutio, John Voce as Capulet, Karlis Zaid as Friar Laurence, Lyndall Grant as Montague, Marlena Thomson as Juliet, Nabs Adnan as Peter, Oliver Gorringe as Sampson and Oliver Tapp as Romeo.
