Greenwich Theatre's Romeo and Juliet review: Verona turns hot, bloody and queer

Greenwich Theatre turns Shakespeare's tragedy queer with a hot cast, folk music and a set built for the heatwave.

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Greenwich Theatre's Romeo and Juliet review: Verona turns hot, bloody and queer

Written by

Simon Worrell

Article type :

Critic Review

Published on

08 Jul 2026

For Greenwich Theatre Productions' first Shakespeare, the well-loved tale of Romeo and Juliet has been chosen. Played with spirit and skill by a young cast. Played too with accompaniment, as the talented actors pepper the play throughout with interludes of folk-inspired music. On a sultry summer evening in London, the audience witnessed hot-blooded passion paired with hot bloody action. The stage fighting was great fun. Greenwich in a heatwave turned out to be a surprisingly well-matched setting for on-stage steamy Verona. Where Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers set their scene.

On entering the auditorium, clouds of vapour hung above our heads. Beautifully lit. We were immersed in the stifling miasma in which the famous lovers also find themselves. A time of sharp political divides. Where who you are dictates what you must do.

Of course, the plot is as well-known as any. We've studied it at school, seen films, watched musical adaptations in theatres or the opera house. Romeo and Juliet are youngsters from different sides of the tracks. Finding love despite their differences. Consequences are faced, duels fought. A plan only teenagers could concoct is hatched. A plan to give life to the couple away from the constraints and obligations of their families. But the plan inevitably fails. Tragedy results.

But the Artistic Director of Greenwich Theatre, James Haddrell, does more than recreate this classic tale. There are layers of complexity that enrich the themes of social castigation and peer acceptance. Romeo is played by the female British-Nigerian actor Blossom Timothy. Throughout the play, Romeo is variously referred to in both masculine and feminine terms. It is clear that Romeo's rejection by Juliet's family is nuanced. It's not just that Romeo is a Montague. In this interpretation, both sexuality and ethnicity become reasons to reject. We see more modern concerns coming into focus than are apparent in Shakespeare's original. In today's times, surnames and family lines less commonly cause misgiving and malice. In this Romeo and Juliet, however, we witness our current preoccupations with skin, sex and sexuality.

Other characters too are played by non-traditional genders. Both Friar Lawrence and Mercutio are played by female actors. Of course, in Shakespeare's day all actors on the stage were male. Not a legal requirement but one enforced by both social convention and religious pressure. Given this, it seems especially fitting to subvert the original playing practice by employing female actors. For the Catholic Friar Lawrence and promiscuous Mercutio to be played in this way, James Haddrell subverts the norms expected of women today from both religious and societal stances.

As this Romeo and Juliet was both old and new, so was the set. First designed for the drama school Rose Bruford, Greenwich Theatre has reimagined its use. Away from its original design for the musical Spring Awakening, the staging is reused to facilitate more sustainable theatre. We are now transported to 14th-century Verona. Not that we realised the set was second-hand. As the staging featured monastic references and a prominent balcony, it looked as smart and bespoke as any.

The young cast tackled the stage fighting and the text with equal verve. An exciting evening was seen that swiftly skipped through the couplets. Leaving enough room in the proceedings for musical numbers. A Shakespeare slightly shorter than a feature-length film was produced. A mean feat. During the faster moments, some of the diction did suffer, especially when delivering lines upstage. But this didn't impact on the storytelling significantly as the staging was clear and well executed. Matt Penson's performances as Benvolio and Lord Capulet were particularly strong, especially in the Act 3, Scene 5 confrontation with Juliet and her Nurse.

This 6-person cast made good use of judicious doubling, creating a team of talented actor-musicians asking new questions from this old work. At Greenwich, further light has been shed on Romeo and Juliet that leaves the audience seeing it anew. As the play declares in its final throes, Romeo and Juliet is a tale of woe. And it is. But Shakespeare also reminds us of early, all-encompassing, reckless love. Of what we sometimes have to risk in life. And that it might not work out in the end. But that the mistake would be not to try in the first place.