I had a hankering to be in a full length production of a Shakespeare play, having not been in one since I did “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2016. After chatting to Adam at an improv night, he suggested Derby Shakespeare Company, who would be performing their own version of “Romeo and Juliet” in summer.
Auditioning for R&J was one of the most nerve-wracking things I’ve done recently, having not had to audition for anything in a long time (with Elemental Theatre and Nottingham Rebels, parts were just dished out to whoever turned up!). It helped that I had been to Shakespeare House previously, attending a rehearsal for and then a performance of “Art” last year (see my review here), so I had already met Matt Swan, the director, but that didn’t do much to settle my nerves. On the evening I attended, I was the last called in to audition, but, in a way, this was a good thing as it meant I had opportunity to sit in the bar with other members and get to know people. For my audition, I chose a speech by Prince Escalus, and Matt, who was planning to update the production to modern day and set it on a council estate, explained that he envisaged the Prince as a Cressida Dick-style police commissioner, and asked me to read the prologue as though it were a press conference. This was a big ask, as I hadn’t even looked over the prologue prior to the audition, but I gave it a good go, and left feeling happy that I’d had the opportunity and the courage to audition even if it didn’t go any further.
A couple of weeks later, I received a call from Matt offering me the part of Lord Montague. He explained that my interpretation of the Prince didn’t fit with his vision – but I was just thrilled to be given a part at all, and I excitedly went along to the read through, where I was glad to spot some familiar faces that I’d met previously at “The Much Ados” improv night. One thing that struck me about the group immediately was how welcoming everyone was, taking time to introduce themselves to me so that I never felt like an outsider, and instead felt as though I fit in straight away. I think Jack and Emily, who played Romeo and Juliet, should both especially be commended for bringing the company together, and making everyone feel involved. The first couple of rehearsals were spent sitting round discussing character, and working out how the play fit into this world of street-level gang violence that Matt wanted to create. We discussed the Montagues running a drug empire, Romeo’s relationship with his parents, and also the question of Benvolio’s absent mum and dad. I really enjoyed these discussions – having the opportunity to sit round and chat about Shakespeare for a couple of hours was great fun!
Although Montague isn’t a huge role, appearing in three scenes, Matt included me in two other scenes, namely the party at the Capulets’ (reimagined as a fancy dress party rather than a masked ball) and the Apothecary nightclub, where Romeo goes to buy poison after learning about Juliet’s “death”. I really appreciated being involved in these scenes (although the less said about my dancing skills the better), and the costumes for the fancy dress party were amazing! Although R&J is a tragedy, these scenes really helped us find some comedic moments in the play, and liven things up a bit.
I also enjoyed sitting and watching other scenes come together during rehearsals. I thought Matt’s inclusion of Abram (Ed) and Balthasar (Phil) as two additional members of Romeo’s crew really helped to sell the idea of a Montague gang, and made Balthasar’s sudden appearance in the final act feel less jarring. I also thought merging the roles of Peter and Sampson (both played by Jess) was also clever, and made a lot of sense. I was a little surprised by the removal of Paris’s death scene, but it meant that the focus remained on R&J. Unfortunately it also meant that many of Paris’s lines were cut, which was a shame, as I particularly enjoyed Ben’s interpretation of Paris as slightly menacing and controlling – it would have been nice to see him get his comeuppance!
Towards the end of the rehearsals, I was introduced to a Derby Shakespeare Company tradition – the gabble, where we all rushed through the play at breakneck speed, making sure we all knew our lines, but also having a bit of fun amidst the stress of the last few rehearsals. The next day, we were able to rehearse at Markeaton Park, where we would be performing at the craft village, and whilst I was working during the day, it was exciting to see pictures being sent on Whatsapp showing the stage being constructed. When I arrived in the evening, the top of “Capulet Towers” could be spotted from outside the craft village, the staging reached so high!
The show was a great success, with packed out audiences and excellent weather. One thing that I’d never realised (even though it seems obvious) was that, when the show begins, it is still daylight, meaning that the audience are in full view. I’m used to performing with the audience in darkness, making it easier to ignore them and not worry too much about their reactions. By the time of the second act, darkness had fallen, which helped for the nightclub scene, although it’s a shame that the fancy dress party hadn’t occurred a little later in the script, as I feel that a bit more darkness/twilight would have helped create a better party atmosphere. Something else that surprised me was how easy it is for your voice to get lost when performing outside – projection is incredibly important, especially when you are lacking the usual acoustics of an indoor theatre.
After the show, I was introduced to another Derby Shakespeare tradition – the “fish and chip night”, where the group got together to celebrate the show and order (rather confusingly) pizzas. People performed a variety of different sketches and songs related to the play, and Ian even got me involved with a short improv piece about Capulet and Montague deciding to run off together to Marbella.
This was a great show to be involved in, and lots of fun both on and off the stage. To say it was my first show with a new group, I felt like I fit in straight away, and was thrilled to be given a named role, and involved in other scenes too. After “Romeo and Juliet”, I was desperate to be involved in their next production of “Macbeth” – but would I make the cut? Spoilers: yes I would – but that’s for another blog post.
Tom Morley, December 2024
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