London – Sean Holmes’s new staging of Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe drags Verona out of the Renaissance and drops it, dust and all, into the heat and grit of the American frontier. In Paul Willis’s set, a clapboard saloon façade looms over the stage, the timber already smeared with a streak of ominous red. Stetsons are tipped, six-shooters twirled, and a live bluegrass band, under the musical direction of Grant Olding, plucks and strums the story into motion.
From its opening moments, the production crackles with swagger. Jamie-Rose Monk’s bawdy, quick-witted Nurse sets a pace that Michael Elcock’s exuberant Mercutio matches, drawing infectious laughter from the crowd. There’s a brash, accessible energy here that feels designed to win over even the most reluctant groundlings.
Yet, the buoyancy of the first half can come at a cost. Some critics have noted that the heavy dose of comedy occasionally blunts the tension of the impending tragedy. Rawaed Asde’s Romeo is played with unrelenting fervour, a performance high on passion but short on tonal variety. By contrast, Lola Shalam’s Juliet offers a more layered portrayal — lively and rebellious, with flashes of steely determination beneath the flirtation.
As the evening darkens, Holmes finds the production’s most compelling register. Ghostly figures linger on stage, characters return after death to speak their final lines, and the music takes on a mournful strain. In these moments, the Wild West conceit sharpens rather than distracts, underscoring the brutality of a world where violence flares as quickly as desire.
If the stylistic mash-up occasionally jars — London accents cutting through cowboy costumes, or the three-hour running time stretching the pacing — it remains visually arresting and thematically clear. This is a Romeo and Juliet about young people in a dangerous place, where love can be reckless, defiant, and ultimately fatal.
Holmes’s vision may not please purists, but it does what a Globe production should: it makes Shakespeare immediate. The gunfights and banjos are part of the fun, but it’s the final, quiet grief that lingers when the saloon doors swing shut.
Romeo and Juliet plays at Shakespeare’s Globe, London, until 2 August. Directed by Sean Holmes; design by Paul Willis; music by Grant Olding. Cast includes Rawaed Asde (Romeo), Lola Shalam (Juliet), Jamie-Rose Monk (Nurse), Michael Elcock (Mercutio).
https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/
