28 March 2014
A chance to catch the Broadway debut of Orlando Bloom, who's adequate in a patchy, modern-dress production that wasn't especially well received by US critics or even a box-office smash. Lowpoints of the show (filmed on high-definition cameras) include Juliet (Condola Rashad) frantically shouting her lines on a swing and Romeo straddling a bad-boy motorbike on stage.
Then again, the lovers’ first scene together is moving, while performances by Jayne Houdyshell (the nurse) and Christian Camargo (Mercutio) growl with intelligence. Another plus: most of Shakespeare’s words are left in one piece, so students keen to avoid actually reading Romeo and Juliet won’t be led too far astray.
