Romeo and Juliet

Darwin Lyons and Paolo Santalucia in Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Daniel DiMarco.

Written in the 16th century, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous love stories in the English language, and certainly one of the playwright’s better-known plays. Its characters and verses are regularly referenced in pop culture, and the production itself is a predictable one with an ending known by all from the start. The University of Toronto’s Hart House Theatre, however, has taken the tale of Verona’s star-crossed lovers and put an edgy, modern spin on the setting and characters. This Romeo and Juliet takes Shakespeare’s amorous verses and places them in a gritty, present-day Italy bursting with elements of hip-hop, drugs and violence.

A group of troubled youths, the Montagues and Capulets swarm the stage in the first scene, which ends with a sword fight and gun fire. This is the audience’s first chaotic glimpse at what is to come. Young Romeo (played to perfection by Paolo Santalucia), a Montague, laments his love for Rosaline, a Capulet, and makes plans to attend a ball at the Capulet house to win over the object of his infatuation. Before the ball begins, young Juliet (Darwin Lyons), her nurse (Lesley Robertson), and her mother (Kelly Bolt) discuss Juliet’s future and her potential suitor, Paris (Eric Finlayson). The Shakespearian dialogue in this production is delivered brilliantly and energetically by all the characters in these scenes.

One of the most famous scenes in English literature is played out flawlessly as Romeo meets Juliet for the first time at the Capulet ball (forgetting all about Rosaline) with Santalucia breathing passion and believability into the character of smitten Romeo. The intense demise of both Mercutio (Joshua Browne) and Tybalt (Johnathan Sousa) has the audience on the edge of their seats, but this scene is hardly a preparation for what is to come in the final scene of the production,  a well-known yet completely devastating ending.

Romeo and Juliet is carried by two extraordinary talents in the title roles—Santalucia electrifies the stage as Romeo, and Lyons is a precocious and loving Juliet. The supporting cast is also terrific under director Jeremy Hutton, delivering Shakespearian verses with total conviction and making them applicable to a modern world. This adaptation of Romeo and Juliet is both original and entertaining.

Romeo and Juliet runs until November 24 at Hart House Theatre. Visit harthouse.ca for more information and to buy tickets.

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