When most students plan their gap years, preparations usually call for copious spending of their parents money, boozy nights in exotic countries and sorting out exactly how to make that all look good on a CV. Miss Ellie Kendrick on the other hand has opted to spend her gap year acting out the passionate throes of a Shakespearean tragedy and making her stage debut in Romeo and Juliet in the most famous Shakespearian theatre in the world. No doubt she'll be fine when it comes to writing her CV.
Kendrick's gap year drive, as well as her mesmerizing stage acting, is quite impressive, however she is just part of a magnificent cast working to bring Romeo and Juliet back to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Kendrick plays opposite Adetomiwa Edun as a handsome dark Romeo and they are joined by Philip Cumbus as Mercutio and Penny Layden as the Nurse.
I arrive at a packed Globe eagerly anticipating the performance. Opening night was a week earlier – timed to coincide with the celebration of Shakespeare's official birthday – so the cast now has a few shows under their belt and tonight promises much.
It can be difficult to breathe new life into a story as familiar as that of this pair of star-crossed lovers however Dominic Dromgoole's direction opens up the interpretation and offers a much more realistic look into the lives of the Montagues and Capulets – and what led to the deaths of their youngsters.
Beneath the glossy veneer of young love gone horribly wrong are the family ties and tensions that have significantly more pull in the lives of the characters than a single glance between a sheltered daughter and a gatecrasher at her father's party. The familiar lines 'wherefore art thou Romeo?' and 'parting is such sweet sorrow' are spoken convincingly by the actors but as I feel, appropriately, I am watching a pantomime of love. Edun is perfect as the flighty Romeo, one moment pinning over Rosalind then next proposing marriage to Juliet. While I am convinced that they believe their passion, their skilled performance hints at the possibility their love might well be youthful fits of passion and a reaction to the stressful rivalry between their two families.
By far the most powerful scenes are those performed in family groups. Juliet's pleasant familiarity with her nurse and passionate outburst at her father appear much more realistic than her stolen embraces with Romeo while his playful banter with friends and revenge of Mercutio's death carries more force than any poetry whispered to his lover. I am completely blown away by Mercutio's pained soliloquy on the nature of dreams – his own haunted visions foretelling his unfortunate future.
What becomes increasingly clear as the play winds to its inevitably tragic conclusion is the pressure the powerful families are under to maintain their dignity and rivalry. Juliet and Romeo's death is as much an expression of love as an escape from the life their families sustain.
At the closing lines, the theatre is silent for a moment at the tragedy that has just unfolded then explodes into applause. Each actor has held their own with poise and skill creating an ensemble performance that is so much more than a love story between two star-crossed lovers. It's a powerful representation of a Shakespearean masterpiece. Now how many students can say they created that on their gap year?
Production shots: John Haynes / Kurt Egyiawan
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