NT’s contemporary Romeo and Julie is enjoyable but doesn’t realise potential – review
We’re big fans of the National Theatre, and we’re always keen to see what they’re programming in their Dorfman Theatre space (the smallest of the three venues they have) as we’ve frequently seen exciting new works premiere there.
Romeo and Julie, a brand new play by Gary Owen and starring It’s A Sin’s Callum Scott Howells opposite Rosie Sheehy in the lead roles, seems an intriguing prospect; a contemporary take on Shakespeare’s classic play with a modern twist focusing on timely issues such as class and social mobility.
We’ll start with the positives: we’re big fans of Callum Scott Howells and he shines here as Romeo. He’s an extremely likeable actor and has expert comic timing.
We see a number of important issues being considered as part of his story arc, mostly focusing on inequality and the impacts of social deprivation – whether he’s struggling as a single teenage dad or trying to look after his alcoholic mother, these matters are depicted sensitively and believably.
