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Holly Atkins Lady Montague Directed by Dominic Dromgoole On our night Adetomiwa Edun's diction was less clear than some of the minor characters and Ellie Kendrick sounded a little hoarse. The irrepressibly piping nurse, Penny Laden, always made herself heard and by contrast the "elders" came across as clearly ineffectual at controlling the pent-up feelings of the younger generation. The inescapable connection with present-day gang warfare felt scary. The blind fury which can turn with lightning speed into a deadly, testosterone-fuelled brawl and fight to the death was rendered with terrifying realism, and sent shivers down the spine. Dromgoole's thoughtful production gives space for the text to breathe. The music inherent in the sound-play of words between the actors is not unlike the orchestration of characterful instruments in a symphonic ensemble. If you have the chance to get to the Globe and renew your acquaintance with Shakespeare's tale, you will be richly rewarded. Alexa Woolf Whilst Romeo & Juliet has of course inspired many well-loved musical compositions familiar to our readers, Peter Grahame Woolf Romeo & Juliet on DVD Film Director Kris Russman £ 19.99 from Shakespeare's Globe This important DVD, with a summertime audience of groundlings crowding Shakespeare's Globe, is a landmark in the realisation of Sam Wanamaker's vision. With Adetomiwa Edun's Romeo and Ellie Kendrick's Juliet greatly matured since we reviewed the first night, and everything captured ideally by camera and microphones, it made for riveting home viewing, both entertaining and and deeply moving. And it should transform the experience of "doing" Romeo & Juliet in school, especially for children who live too far to get to the Globe. Opus Arte is to be congratulated for taking it on alongside their dedication to the Royal Opera and Ballet at Covent Garden, and it must be hoped that filmings at Shakespeare's Globe will become routine every summer. Far better than any of the studio films of Shakespeare, it should find a place in every DVD collection and school library. P.S. I am delighted to learn that As You Like It (directed by Thea Sharrock, film director Kris Russman) & Love’s Labour’s Lost (directed by Dominic Dromgoole, film director by Ian Russell) are planned for cinema and DVD in 2010 ** SHEWES, REVELS and A NOBLE NOYSE Queen Elizabeth Hall, September 1999. Philip Pickett had organised his annual autumn festival at South Bank Centre - - with Pickett's Musicians of the Globe in a programme of songs and dances from Jacobean Court masques. (The previous day I had enjoyed hearing the wind players and drummers making a major contribution to Julius Caesar, given at the Globe Theatre in the original five acts form, with five minute intervals for exercise, refreshment and music; a commendable scheme.) Troilus & Cressida
Shakespeare's Globe, 29 August 2009 Troilus (Paul Stocker), Pandarus (Matthew Kelly) and Cressida (Laura Pyper). (Photo by John Tramper) This had problems for us. Musically, there are few opportunities, and ending the first half by having Cressida up on the balcony singing a pop song had no discernible logic, through it was a sure crowd pleaser, as are the dances with which the Globe ends its shows... Of the cast, the conservatism of Ulysses’ famous conservative speech about social order was delivered with due weight by Jamie Ballard (but see Andrew Griffin 8/9 for a critical analysis of it, turned up by Google Search) and Laura Pyper as Cressida was a particular delight; a high spot was her run-away disclosure to Pandarus of her love for Troilus (they are pictured above). . A "difficult" play, virtually unknown and unperformed until the 1920s, the text is lengthy and dense. I re-read it in preparation, and was once again astounded by Shakespear's depth of background knowledge surfacing in allusions to forgotten literature... A lot of the subtleties were not easy to follow in the Globe acoustic, despite valiant efforts by the cast, so after a time I opened my copy as an aid to concentration. That worked well, but it was disconcerting to discover how savage were the cuts on every page! No one is attributed, and they had the appearance of a crude computer Cut and Join exercise, solely aimed to reduce the playing time. Perhaps something of the kind is usual for this play's revivals, I know not, and some consideration is certainly due to the Globe's patient "groudlings", who are kept standing upright throughout by vigilant ushers ! My last (very indirect) contact with Troilus & Cressida had been through Walton's ill-fated opera... Peter Grahame Woolf
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Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet
inexperience and lack of some of the emotional depth expected from a pair prepared to be swept up by powerful burgeoning currents of sexuality which propel them to their doom. 
there is not much music written into the play.
Music is importantly built into all the productions at Shakespeare’s Globe, taking advantage of the expertise of the Musicians of the Globe, whom we have previously reviewed
R & J, an excellent memento for patrons of the show. 
