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‘THEY’RE BOTH IMPOSSIBLE LOVE STORIES BY WONDERFUL WRITERS’ Hitlist THE BEST THEATRE & DANCE*
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It takes two
The Royal Lyceum are staging two very different shows using the same cast and set. Director Tony Cownie tells Kelly Apter why they’re a perfect match
T wo love stories by two playwrights – performed by one cast on one set. In these cash-strapped times, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Royal Lyceum was trying to save a penny or two. In fact, the innovative doubling-up of the first two shows in the theatre’s autumn season is more for our benefit than theirs.
Both Romeo and Juliet and The Importance of Being Earnest will be performed by the same group of actors, on the same set designed by Neil Murray – giving audiences a chance to compare and contrast the work of Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde, see how actors embrace different roles, and how a good set has the capacity to adapt.
‘Both shows will look very different,’ says Tony Cownie, director for Romeo and Juliet. ‘Earnest is set just before the First World War, whereas Romeo and Juliet takes place just after, so there’s a huge piece of scaffolding that covers the Romeo set from one side of the stage to the other – it’s like the building is under repair having been damaged by the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues.’ Sometimes it can be hard enough to find the right actor for one role, let alone two, so Cownie and Earnest director, Mark Thomson had their work cut out for them. ‘Obviously it’s a bit trickier than just casting for individual shows,’ says Cownie. ‘We had to cast a Romeo that could go on to play Algernon, a Benvolio that could play Jack, a Juliet that could play Cecily – there are more characters in Romeo and Juliet, so we couldn’t do it with all of them, but we did as much as we could.’
Finding new ways to present such an oft- performed play can also prove tricky, but the 1920s setting certainly provides an interesting twist for Romeo and Juliet. Not least because it gives a rationale for some of the characters’ aggressive behaviour.
‘A lot of people were still conscripted at that time, so Mercutio, Paris and the Prince have a military presence in the play,’ says Cownie. ‘And Mercutio does come across as quite a damaged individual, so I’d like the audience to question whether it’s the war that’s done that to him – what’s the reason behind it? It’s also a time when fathers could still tell their daughters who to marry – nowadays they’d just say no and run off.’ According to Cownie, Romeo and Juliet and The Importance of Being Earnest have been deemed suitable bedfellows because they’re both ‘impossible love stories’ by ‘wonderful writers’, but they also capture two base human instincts – our need for love and, in some cases, desire for conflict. ‘They’re such universal themes,’ says Cownie. ‘The beauty of love and the futility of war in all its forms – however petty these things are, they’re still the two things that human beings find themselves immersed in. Everyone’s searching for love, but we’re faced with these feuds because we’re all susceptible to falling out with each other – and look what it does.’
Romeo and Juliet, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 17 Sep–Sat 16 Oct.
✽✽ Arches Live! The annual forum for experimental theatre returns to Glasgow venue, including work by Nic Green. See feature, page 34. Arches, Glasgow, Thu 16–Sat 25 Sep. ✽✽ The Chooky Brae The final instalment of DC Jackson’s Stewarton trilogy is a typically witty tale of domestic chaos. Reviewed next issue. Currently touring across Scotland. See listings for full details. ✽✽ A Play, a Pie and a Pint The popular series of lunchtime plays returns for its latest season, including the 200th play as well as new works from Gary Owen and Linda McLean. Oran Mor, Glasgow. ✽✽ Black Watch What more to say about Gregory Burke’s elegy to the Scottish regiment? Beg, borrow or steal a ticket while you can. SECC, Glasgow, Wed 15 Sep–Sat 9 Oct. ✽✽ Scottish Ballet: Autumn Season – Geometry + Grace The national company presents work choreographed by Frederick Ashton, Ashley and Val Caniparoli of the San Francisco Ballet. See preview, page 86. Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Thu 16–Sat 18 Sep; Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Thu 23–Sat 25 Sep. ✽✽ Romeo and Juliet Bold new adaptation of Shakespeare’s great love story at the Lyceum. See preview, left. Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, Fri 17 Sep–Sat 16 Oct. ✽✽ Interiors Another chance to catch this inventive, stylish and moving piece from Vanishing Point, in which the audience watches a group of actors through a window. Platform, Glasgow, Wed 22 Sep. ✽✽ Talking Heads Members of Dundee Rep’s ensemble perform and direct three monologues from Alan Bennett’s witty, melancholy classic. See preview, page 86. Dundee Rep, Wed 22–Sat 25 Sep. 9–23 Sep 2010 THE LIST 85