Culture

Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Samuel Irwin
Starring Angus McBryde, Abby Howells, Finn Sigglekow, Miriam Noonan, Alex Wilson, and Jacob McDowell
Allen Hall Lunchtime Theatre
4/5


Six actors, all alike in distinction, 
In fair Allen Hall, where they lay their scene, 
From ancient text breaks a new disorder,
Where frenzied acts make for frenzied humour,
From forth the comic loins of Sam Irwin,
A bunch of star-cross’d actors strive to amuse.
 
This version of the bard’s Romeo and Juliet was short, sweet, and full of hilarity. Irwin offered his audience a little twist on the bard’s classic tragedy, providing us with a show full of chaos, mess, and clutter. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong: the lighting often failed, as did the sound, actors ‘forgot’ lines and costume changes, and the lighting operator burnt the toast. From the subtle and well timed ‘sorry’ from Wilson on the sound desk to the melodramatic crying and screaming as McDowell (the lighting operator) threw his burnt toast all over the stage, Irwin created a work that was genuinely hilarious. 
Whether Irwin himself cut together pieces of Shakespeare’s text or utilised an already-edited version of the script sourced from elsewhere, the pieces of the original play that we were privy to see were very well spliced together. I would have liked to see Irwin establish Shakespeare’s narrative more before the meta-theatrical elements snuck in and stole the show but as it stood I saw enough glimpses of the original to ground the bedlam that surrounded it. Irwin was perhaps assuming that most of the audience would already know the plot, which was probably a fair assumption.
What really stole the show, for me, were the ever amusing and tactfully under-played comic stylings of Finn Siggelkow. Sigglekow played various characters throughout, most notably Juliet’s nurse (think Brian’s mother in Monty Python’s The Life of Brian). Perhaps the funniest moment of all was the scene where he had ‘forgotten his costume’ and ran on stage topless, wearing men’s slacks and carrying a floral scarf and a pair of fake breasts. His constant dedication and commitment proved to ensure an infallible performance.
One thing that really intrigued me was the way that a very apprehensive Sigglekow was forced to play out the death scene as Juliet. By placing Sigglekow’s Juliet against McBryde’s Romeo suddenly Romeo and Juliet would have been better titled ‘Romeo and Joseph’. Something for us all to ponder. 
Irwin’s Romeo and Juliet really was a fantastic start to this semester’s LTT program. Irwin never fails to impress me and I am excited to see his future endeavours, which can improve as this active and outgoing theatre maker tackles any and all challenges with style and passion.