Review: 4MBS Romeo and Juliet
Pictured: The demise of Mercutio and of Tybalt in the 2022 4MBS ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Picture credit: Creative Futures Photography.
I suppose it was inevitable that the ‘sweet 16th’ 4MBS Shakespeare Festival would be celebrated with a production of the short-lived youthful romance of the archetypal star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Fortunately for those of us who have seen ‘R&J’ a number of times, the hard-working 4MBS team gathered a talented crew of cast and creatives, led by Xanthe Jones (Director and Costume Designer).
Perhaps unfair to focus on just a few of the performances, but I particularly enjoyed Brooke McElligott’s vivacious and quite modern Juliet, Francis McMahon’s nuanced Friar Laurence, and Liam Wallis’s volatile Mercutio. Louise Brehmer relished the opportunities of playing the character role of Nurse (just great to see a Nurse that is no mere caricature), and James Tait’s Romeo was suitably impetuous and passionate.
Picture (L to R): James Tait (Romeo) and Brooke McElligott (Juliet). Image Credit: Creative Futures Photography.
Picture (L to R): Brooke McElligott (Juliet) and Louise Brehmer (Nurse). Image Credit: Creative Futures Photography
The Roma Street Amphitheatre is a great space for performers and audience alike. The Director made excellent use of the simple set, although it was a pity that the balcony scene was almost above the stage lighting. I am sure that every seat in the amphitheatre gave the audience a great view of the action and that glorious masked ball. Fortunately Brisbane park-theatregoers are a social bunch—which meant that where camp chairs had been placed in front of picnic rugs there was a little shifting around to ensure that everyone could see the unfolding action.
It was worth arriving early on the day, as the pre-show program included Shakespearean dance workshop, live music, kids’ activities (including face-painting, and then a charming ‘Kids’ Classics Shakespeare’ which was led by Maxine Mellor and Nadine Kelly), a Shakespearean language talk, swordplay, and roving entertainers. Lovely to see such a blended audience of young and old, possibly as the result of an excellent program of talks which took place in early October at a number of Brisbane City Council (BCC) Libraries, as part of BCC’s much-valued support of this popular 4MBS Festival. So, here’s to the 2023 4MBS Shakespeare Festival; I suggest ‘following’ 4MBS now so that you don’t miss out.
Picture: The Capulets and Montagues together mourn the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Picture credit: Creative Futures Photography.
Audience Information: The 16th 4MBS Shakespearean Festival included three performances of Romeo and Juliet (14-16 October). The 2022 festival was the first to have a small charge for adult tickets ($10 on 14th October, and $15 for the weekend performances).
Pictures Credit: Creative Futures Photography.
The reviewer attended the Saturday 15th October 2022 performance, held in Roma Street Parkland.