Review: 'R & J' at The Stratford Festival Theatre Canopy, Stratford, Ontario

(Updated: August 20, 2021)

Watching this production of R & J (‘Romeo & Juliet’) reminded me of something after I had finished reading Harper Lee’s ‘Go Set a ‘Watchman’. Personally, it is important and vital that new discoveries and insights are continually made into classic literature so these stories can speak further (at least to me) in a twenty first century world. 

A quick bit of background first.

Harper Lee did not originally publish ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ but instead had submitted ‘Watchman’ to publishers for consideration. One liked certain elements of the book and asked Ms. Lee to go back and re-write the story with these characters.  Thus, ‘Mockingbird’ was born, and ‘Watchman’ was not published until it was discovered after Ms. Lee’s death years later, under dubious circumstances I might add. When I had the opportunity to read ‘Watchman’, I was given new insight into Ms. Lee’s iconic characters.

Fast forward to the present. A new discovery and insight into the romantic tragic story of the ‘star crossed lovers’ proudly takes place at Ontario’s Stratford Festival Theatre Canopy stage.

‘R & J’ becomes a marvelously surprising production as it delivered new personal insights of character development that made logical sense to me when the plot spirals downward to the senseless loss of young life. When I taught ‘Romeo & Juliet’ many years ago to secondary students, they all felt Friar Laurence was to blame fully for the tragedy. As a holy man and spiritual man, Laurence should have known better than to go behind the parents’ backs to marry secretly the young lovers. Couple this now with the plague and the message not being delivered, then it all stems back to Laurence’s actions. Thus, my youthful lot of young people all felt that he was to blame. As I think back to that time, I’m sure their thoughts also became part of my thought process too.

Seeing ‘R & J’ opened my eyes to another possibility of understanding the story with a new perspective since I arrived to this story already with a strong pre-conceived notion that Friar Laurence is fully responsible for this tragedy.

The Festival Website describes this production: “they say that love is blind – and with blindness comes the freedom to open the mind’s eye to a world of limitless possibility. Likewise, the challenge of staging the world’s most famous love story in a time of physical distancing brings with it the opportunity to explore modes of theatrical presentation that are both unexpectedly novel and as old as the art of storytelling itself.”

Ravi Jain’s favourably novel and innovative direction provided a new personal perspective in the art of storytelling. This perspective of modernizing the tale heightens Romeo and Juliet’s tragedy even more for me at the conclusion.

What is most novel is the fact this ‘R & J’ is intended for blind, low-vision and sighted audiences. At the top of the show, the company enters to introduce themselves, who they will play, and provide some descriptive qualities about themselves and the characters they will soon play. Additionally, some stage directions are spoken aloud to describe what happens.  Yes, it’s a uniquely different way to produce live art, but that’s one of the reasons why I like to attend the live theatre.  Will something be uniquely different to challenge me as an audience member so that I come away from the production richer for having watched it?

And I am the richer for having experienced this updated adaptation for our times in an ever-changing societal Covid world.

‘R & J’ is set in Friar Laurence’s (Alex Bulmer) cell following the deaths of the young couple (Dante Jemmott and Eponine Lee). Substitute the word ‘apartment’ for ‘cell’ as there are those necessary items (modern stove, refrigerator, sink, bed, chair, table) needed for a spiritual and holy man who holds an interest in the medicinal properties of herbs and flowers. The semi-circular stage is used to its maximum. It’s never specified how much time has passed after the tragedy. Various scenes are played out in front of the friar sometimes as a dream or sometimes as a memory. While much of the action takes place in Laurence’s mind, ‘R & J’ is not meant to be a memory play, but reinforces just how potent memories, dreams and images are to all of us.

As the Friar, Alex Bulmer strongly anchors and roots this play in durable believability. This friar never leaves the stage at all. Alex is blind but this does not detract at all from an energized performance level, and Bulmer’s strong work as an artist is revealed through her close listening and response to what’s occurring in front of her. Dante Jemmott and Eponine Lee are emotionally poignant and touching as the youthful title characters.

Supporting characters are equally strong. Tom Rooney is a delightful comfort as Juliet’s Nurse. Beck Lloyd faces a challenge in playing two opposing characters of Lady Capulet and Tybalt and impressively won me over when she appeared on stage as the fiery young man.  Rick Roberts is both a regal and frightening Capulet who commanded the stage in his moment of demanding his daughter do as he says in marrying Paris. Sepehr Reybod’s Mercutio is bawdy in his taunting of Tybalt and manages to gain my sympathy before he tragically loses his life. Lisa Nasson’s Benvolio securely and bravely tries to become that voice of reason for Romeo amid confusion between the two families.

Final Comments:  As a retired teacher of English language and literature, this production of ‘R & J’ would be a most welcome juxtaposition for secondary school students who have studied the play to see this enlightening adaptation.  Since we are still in Covid times, I am assuming student trips are still a no go so would the Festival consider filming this production and then making it available for teaching purposes? I just received word this production of ‘R & J’ along with the rest of the 2021 shows will be filmed and available for streaming on Stratfest@Home this fall. More details to come so stay tuned.

So pleased the Stratford Festival continues its focus in presenting Shakespearean works with a unique new vision for the twenty first century.

Photo of Alex Bulmer as Friar Laurence by David Hou.

R & J by William Shakespeare

Adapted by Ravi Jain, Christine Horne, and Alex Bulmer

Directed by Ravi Jain

Produced in collaboration with Why Not Theatre

Dante Jemmott as Romeo and Eponine Lee as Juliet

Alex Bulmer as the Friar; Beck Lloyd as Lady Capulet and Tybalt; Lisa Nasson as Benvolio; Sepehr Reybod as Mercutio

Rick Roberts as Capulet; Tom Rooney as the Nurse

The production runs to September 26 at the Festival Theatre Canopy. 

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.stratfordfestival.ca.