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STAGE – Romeo & Juliet 2005

Put Romeo (Andrew Garfield) and Juliet in a scenario without a balcony. The heights of intensity in Jacob Murray’s charmingly straightforward performance are contained to the Royal Exchange floor. But this young production isn’t lacking in emotional impact. Murray claims that Italian films were his inspiration, yet La Dolce Vita or any other Italian neorealist movie doesn’t really feel like this. Although there is little evidence of moral deterioration or spiritual rot, some visuals do have elements of, instance, Fellini’s aesthetic. When his daughter defines him, Lord Capulet grows a little nastier as simmering violence explodes in clashing sword fights. While the brief appearance of the guys riding Vespa scooters captures the 1960s Italian youth style, there is otherwise no feeling of the opulence and wild eccentricity of the era’s culture.

Reviews - What they say

"... an immensely plausible, passionate pair..."

"...Garfield - already seen to electrifying effect at the Exchange earlier this year in Kes - who best turns inexperience to his advantage, suggesting raw adolescent vulnerability..."

Dominic Cavendish
Daily Telegraph

"... a brave performance, compelling to watch..."

"[Garfield's] performance has that no-brakes whiff of danger that marks out the interesting Romeos from the indifferent ones"

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Lyn Gardner
The Guardian

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Date:
Play:
Romeo & Juliet
Roles:
Romeo
Director:
Jacob Murray
Theater:
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Cast:
Andrew Buchan (Mercutio); Andrew Garfield (Romeo); Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Juliet); Maggie McCarthy (Nurse); Faz Singhateh (Tybalt)
Run:
September 7, 2005 - October 22, 2005

Andrew Garfield

A site dedicated to actor Andrew Garfield