“Romeo and Juliet” – Shakespeare’s Globe ★★★★☆

The Globe’s new production of “Romeo and Juliet”, directed by Sean Holmes, transports the action to the American West in the 1880s, with Paul Wills’ stage design boasting saloon doors and blood-stained wooden walls. This setting allows the company to discover new elements in this 400-year old play, reimagining the Capulet’s masked ball as a hoedown and Paris and Romeo’s showdown as a classic wild west shootout. Whilst the opening act contains many laughs, and gives us a brief glimpse into the title couple’s burgeoning relationship, the second half hammers home the tragedy, with Romeo haunted by the dead bodies of his contemporaries as they perform an intimidating, slowed-down line dance.

The poster for the play, featuring Rawaed Asde as Romeo and Lola Shalam as Juliet

The action ramps up quickly with an initial fight breaking out between Josh Gordon’s Sampson and Calum Callaghan’s Tybalt. This is a play where characters are quick to act, and tensions boil over fast, and the Wild West seems like a natural fit – nowhere does the setting appear shoe-horned. The initial scene wastes no time in setting the stage for the upcoming tragedy, and by the time Romeo (Rawaed Asde) appears, any doubts about the setting have been dispelled.

Asde’s Romeo feels a little too by-the-book; there are no great surprises in his performance, but it is, on the whole, done well. He excels in his friendship with Benvolio (understudied incredibly well by David Olaniregun for the performance I saw) and Mercutio (Michael Elcock), though his relationship with Juliet feels a little forced at times. Lola Shalam as Juliet is a revelation – she presents a down-to-earth, assertive, strong-willed Juliet, someone who knows what she wants and will do whatever it takes to get it. She is incredibly funny and likeable, and offers new and fresh meaning to some of the lines, turning many of Juliet’s dreamy soliloquys into comical exchanges with the audience.

The Capulet’s barn dance in full swing. Photo credit: Tristram Kenton.

Elcock’s Mercutio is mostly played for laughs – his famous ‘Queen Mab’ speech is presented as tongue-in-cheek, with Elcock bouncing around the stage and picking people out of the audience to aim different lines to. It is very funny, and his performance of the speech earns him a round of applause, although the tension that goes along with Mercutio’s character is often lost – Elcock does not feel threatening in the slightest, and even his death scene is played for laughs, with a cheeky wink at the audience before Mercutio succumbs to his wounds.

Dharmesh Patel gives a standout performance as Peter, a character often overlooked but who here is front and centre, providing excellent asides to the audience and knowing exactly how to get the crowd onside and reacting. Patel also doubles up as Prince (or Sheriff) Escalus, deftly showing his range as he presents a much stronger and formidable character who both begins and ends the play. As Juliet’s Nurse, Jamie Rose-Monk is a comical highlight, livening the stage up in every scene she is in – and yet, it is her emotional horror at discovering Juliet’s lifeless body that will stay with the audience, more than her humorous rants.

Lola Shalam as Juliet. Photo credit: Tristram Kenton.

Most of the original text remains intact – the second half feels slightly longer as the action dips during some dragged out scenes between Juliet and John Lightbody’s Friar Lawrence, where some of the text, in my opinion, could have been cut without any great casualty to the plot – but there are some interesting omissions, mainly in the rivalry between Capulet (Colm Gormley) and Montague (Marcus Adolphy), which is mostly removed. Capulet is more than happy for the Montague boys to remain at his barn dance, and the ongoing feud is instead driven by the younger characters, namely Callaghan’s formidable Tybalt. This is an interesting take, and makes Gormley’s Capulet much more likeable – seemingly trapped in this endless struggle with the Montagues against his will – but it does rob the ending of being satisfying, as Montague and Capulet stand over the bodies of their children with no feud to resolve.

Overall, this is an action-packed production of the Shakespearean classic, which excels in the tragedy whilst also finding space to have fun thanks to the imaginative setting (yes, it does all end with the cast partaking in a line dance). The play heavily leans into the comedy, but does not shy away from the violence. There is something for everyone to enjoy here, whether you are a Shakespeare newbie or a well-seasoned fan. Thrilling stuff. Yeehaw!

Tom Morley, June 2025

Michael Elcock as Mercutio. Photo credit: Tristram Kenton.

Review Round-up:

WhatsOnStage: Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe – A four star review from WoS, who discuss in further detail the resurrection of dead character’s as ghosts, which helps to bring the play to “a powerful culmination in the final scene in which Romeo finds Juliet in her tomb”

The Guardian: Romeo and Juliet review – Also four stars from the Guardian, who claim that the “last hour is immaculate in its execution […] here is a rare production where high concept meets high-class execution.“

West End Best Friend – ROMEO AND JULIET review – Completing the hat trick, four stars from WEBF, who offer more insight into the Western setting, calling the production “an accessible and fun, immersive experience that any London tourist should enjoy”