Romeo and Juliet
By William Shakespeare
Performed by Kraken

There’s one more performance of this on Saturday 26th October 2024 (today). See how to get tickets at the end of my review and then also check out what’s next for the company and a little about Kraken Theatre Group.

Cast:

Romeo  – Kyle Davies                                 ♥     Juliet    –    Emma Davies
Mercutio/Prince – Lesley Kettles             ♥    Nurse    –    Jane Callaghan
Benvolio/Friar John – Dee Williams       ♥    Tybalt    –   Tay-Buys Callaghan
Paris – Allan Farrell                                     ♥     Capulet  –   Michael Coyne
Lady Capulet – Pauline Darnbrough       ♥     Montague/Apothecary – Richard Cook
Lady Montague – Leanne Cook               ♥    Friar Lawrence – David Gerrard
Balthasar/Citizens – Elin Feet                  ♥    Chorus/Citizens – Robyn Gordon 

Review

Most of us know the story of the tragi-love story of Romeo and Juliet and it’s nice to sometimes venture to something familiar or have Shakespeare’s work as a starting point for theatre-goers. It was good to see some much needed Shakespeare sweeping into “the wee county” of Clackmannanshire as it’s usually something that’s shown more by other companies in surrounding counties and regions.
This time Romeo and Juliet had a twist, it was set in the roaring 1920’s, so expect the fashions of the day, especially wonderfully ornate and fun flapper dresses.

As the audience walked into the art-deco style Devonvale Hall, they did so to the music of the 1920’s, which set the scene of when this production of Romeo and Juliet is placed. The layout of seats each side of the floor-level stage, almost like a “round”, worked perfectly for this production and I suspect it would for future plays too. There’s often something special about this layout, perhaps because of the intimate feel it brings as it draws in the audience more and perhaps because there are few theatres that have this layout.

As the audience were plunged into darkness, a dramatic prologue was effectively recited in unison by all the cast members.

Although it’s a play, the music trend of big musicals of having contemporary music in different styles was hit upon. The music arrangement was great. There were extracts of different pieces from 1920’s to contemporary pop each time the lights went down when there was a scene change and minimalist furniture needed moving. Listening to the words, on the whole these extracts aided in keeping the play flowing, neatly following on from what was just performed.
At the masked ball, this trend also followed, in a little bit of Strictly style in music choice and with some entertaining choreography, I felt a little more could’ve been done here, but what was there looked pretty good.

By and large, the story of Romeo and Juliet was followed, impressively, keeping the Shakespearean language throughout, with that familiar rhythm of speech. You could tell that Shakespeare had been studied well and there was the sense the cast understood the speech rhythms and patterns as well as the meaning of what they were saying and how it needed to be conveyed to the audience.
The mix of the 1920’s, the contemporary and the Shakespearian language is something you’d think might jar, but instead it gelled together and it felt like there was something for everyone, making it accessible, without it feeling forced.

Romeo was played by Kyle Davies with his real-life wife, Emma Davies playing Juliet. They were both strong leads throughout. They brought strength of character and emotion as they brought the characters to life. The balcony scene was done with strength of tone from Juliet and raw emotion and energy from Romeo. This feel of coming of age and of their emotions carried well, throughout the play, managing to refrain from “over-egging” their parts at the balcony or in the concluding scenes.
Lesley Kettles’s Mercutio was a strong performance. The performances of Michael Coyne as Capulet and Pauline Darnbrough as Lady Capulet grew stronger and stronger to impressive heights as the night went on, capturing the complexity of their characters and how they related to others, even through monologues.

Many of the long monologues were done well, especially that of one in the garden that was delivered with much enthusiasm and passion. With minimal scenery, it still drew you into the garden scenery of beauty and intrigue.

There’s also some fun to be had. Although, Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story, it does have some lightness and this was picked out well, especially in the beginning scenes.

In the second act, there is much emotion that hits the room and delivered rather convincingly.

Watch out for A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare in 2025

Tickets: http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/kraken-theatre-group

About the Company

Kraken is a small company of amateur performers based in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, consisting of cast members in and around the county, some who have been performing in other highly critiqued amateur theatre companies, with one member also appearing on TV. Others, this was beginning position into the world of acting.

The company says in their blurb:
“Our aim is simple, we want to produce local dramatic performances using local adults. In the area there are plenty of amazing groups, classes and performance companies catering to musicals and children. What we want to do is something a bit different, we want to focus on drama, acting technique, script reading and analysis and of course plays. To begin with we want to ideally present two productions per year, one contemporary play and one classical, Shakespeare perhaps.”