Great Performances Review: Romeo & Juliet

In the face of a historical pandemic and shuttered stages around the world, the National Theater put together a pared-down, inventive production of Shakespeare’s Great Performances: Romeo & Juliet telling the tale of two families forever divided in fair Verona united only by grief and loss.

The staging adds tension and something different to the story that piques your interest from the opening moments. The staging keeps viewers enraptured and hooked on a story that’s been told repeatedly in many ways over the centuries.

The cast is excellent, from Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley as the titular lovers to Tamsin Greig as Lady Capulet and David Judge as Tybalt. Every member of the ensemble brings something unique to their characters that doesn’t leave one feeling flat. O’Connor and Buckley’s chemistry is off the charts, and you are 100 percent along for the ride to watch the coupling and tragic parting of the iconic pair.

There’s something so refreshing and intelligent using the stripped-down sets, the props, every inch of the stage and beyond to tell this story, further setting this performance apart from others that have come before them. The large stage door used as a divider between the Capulet party to the playful way the storage containers used during the Romeo and Juliet montage are fun choices directorial choices that make the production stand apart.

The editing, the staging, and the choices made throughout the production contemporize the story, piquing viewers’ interest and conveying each scene’s emotions wholly despite the use of Shakespeare’s, at times, complex dialogue otherwise.

There are significant moments like Romeo meeting Juliet for the first time and Mercutio’s death that brings Baz Luhrmann’s modern iteration of the story to mind in a way that doesn’t come off as a direct copy but more of an homage.

Mercutio: A plague on both your houses

Shubham Saraf’s Benvolio does a beautiful job of conveying the devastation and heartbreak in the aftermath of Mercutio’s (Fisayo Akinade) death.

Greig’s Lady Capulet is so smooth, passive-aggressive, and calculated that she quickly stands out in her scenes, especially when she gives Buckley’s Juliet her ultimatum to either marry Paris or be thrown out. Buckley and Grieg play off each other so well and do incredible work at that moment that it keeps you drawn to the screen.

Juliet’s monologue before drinking the elixir is haunting as members of the cast surround her, as she sits in the center on the yellow bed featured earlier on in the production adds depth and gravity to her decision.

It remains impressive that despite reading this play, watching so many different iterations throughout the years, the National Theater’s play on the story feels refreshing and like it can stand on its own.

As a viewer, even though you know every beat of this story and know how it all ends, you still feel the all-encompassing sense of dread, sorrow, and tension.

Great Performances: Romeo & Juliet is so well executed, well-cast, well-acted, and it’s in that combination that we get such a fresh feeling to a classic story.

What did you think of this episode of Great Performances: Romeo & Juliet? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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You can watch Great Performances: Romeo & Juliet on the PBS app.

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