Review: Romeo and Juliet at Theatre by the Lake

“…the best piece of integration that I have seen…“

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Theatre by the Lake, Keswick

by Ken Powell

Theatre by the Lake (TBTL), ever inventive in looking for ways to make theatre accessible, have co-produced a fascinating rethinking of Romeo and Juliet, teaming up with Shakespeare North Playhouse and Graeae Theatre Company (who champion the best in Deaf, Disabled and neurodivergent talent).

The production aims to be as inclusive as possible, using an ensemble of actors with a range of disabilities to perform, in a relaxed atmosphere, and providing sign language throughout. Three screens display captions and visual summaries of each scene (some of which are very funny). This sounds reasonably on par for aid given to neurodivergent, deaf and visually impaired audiences, that regular theatre-goers have seen before. The difference here though is how all these ‘aids’ are made to be a part of the performance.

You see all the action on the stage twice, with two actors signing and two speaking the parts. It works remarkably well with quite different interpretations at times. Craig Painting, in particular, is brilliant and hilarious with his signing. It is almost as though he shows us the hidden thoughts of the characters. Petre Dobre too, a deaf performer, shows us a different interpretation when he plays Romeo. He’s quite convincing.

The caption screens become part of the story too, as the actors, initially introduced by the screens, interact and respond to what they can see. The timing of putting the words up needs a little work and I think there was at least one glitch, but these are things that will iron out over performances. Nevertheless, there’s no pretending the screens aren’t there – they’re an integral part.

Likewise, the various disabilities of the ensemble are declared and frequently made use of. Reece Pantry, often in his wheelchair, is a great example of this. In character role and out, he brings the house down more than once, with his comments and antics in his wheelchair.

Although I’ve worked with autistic people for many decades and have ADHD, on the whole here I’m watching as a neurotypical with no greater disability than chronic short-sightedness and an inability to laugh quietly. TBTL suggested I might want to include the thoughts of my family and generously invited them to come along and give their thoughts.

Both my children, now adult, are autistic (though they are chalk and cheese in how that presents). My son (Sam) has ADHD too and is a reluctant theatre-goer. My daughter (JJ) works professionally in making education and culture accessible for all, so this is exactly her kind of thing. My wife (Vikki) works for the NHS, dealing with adults with learning disabilities and autism, so she has a professionally critical eye here. One way or another, they are all supremely better qualified than I to comment on this show, so I’ll finish this review with their thoughts.

Sam:

I liked the fact that it was a very inclusive cast and that it was oriented in a way that was more understandable for other types of audience. I think it faltered a little at times by slightly over-complicating things – like when the captions fell apart for dramatic effect – that just confused things.

I liked that they had two Romeos, two Juliets and two of each of the other characters – it was a good idea! I felt that certain members of the cast were stronger than the others. Some were exceedingly talented. In my opinion, Irmina St Catherine was the strongest out of all of them. She noticed when the dialogue got behind and changed her pace to keep in time. She did really well to be a strong grounding role that everyone worked off. Both Romeos – especially Ciaran Forrest who is autistic – were really good and Rheanon Lee was a very strong character as well. I’d give it 3.5 stars.

JJ:

To me, this Romeo and Juliet was the best piece of integration that I have seen. Usually when I have seen attempts to make something inclusive of disabilities, it often misses the mark by trying to cater to an ableist view point. With this performance, I felt seen in the jokes that were made around accessibility tools that aren’t necessarily for the disabled person but for the ‘able’ person ‘digesting them’.

I also thought it was fantastic that they had a para-ambulatory actor on the stage, as often the representation of wheelchair users is black and white. Having Reece Pantry, who both walked and used his wheelchair, helps to breakdown stereotypes that wheelchair users aren’t able to walk.

I was particularly impressed with the incorporation of sign language. Knowing a little about what was going to be attempted before the show, I expected the performance to be ‘mirrored’ with the actors speaking and those using BSL on opposite sides. Instead, the duality was fully incorporated, with no divide between the BSL and speaking actors, everyone moving around and interacting with each other. The interpreter actor, Craig Painting, and the BSL Romeo, Petre Dobre, stood out, as I had never seen BSL acted to such an extent where they were using their whole bodies to sign and portray meanings.

My main criticism would be that the captioning wasn’t quite right. There were points where people were speaking and no captions were coming up, or the captions had came up long before the person got to the line. I think that will come with time in the performance though, as it is more of a cohesion aspect. I would give this 4.5 stars.

Vikki:

There was a lot in this show: it was a kind of a social commentary on the casting of actors with disability, which it did well; it was inclusive, which it did well; it showcased the skills of people with disabilities, also done well. All three together? I’m not sure it didn’t lose its way a bit. I thought it was trying to be too many things.

The show was amusing and I thought Reece Pantry and Petre Dobre were brilliant. Craig Painting was excellent. Some parts were a little weak but overall, the production was enjoyable and did show how you can have disabilities written into the script. I like how things were woven in – wheelchairs, lights for partially sighted, signing – all this could have been done in any production. It doesn’t need to be a special play with all these techniques in. I would have liked to see people with learning disabilities involved. It showcased all disabilities except that. I would give it 4 stars.

Romeo and Juliet plays at Theatre by the Lake until Saturday 26 October. Tickets are available here.

Ken Powell is chief editor for Northern Arts Review and is also a bestselling author and writer for various publications around the world. A former school teacher, he continues to write educational books along with fiction and travelogues. You can find all his books and various websites here including his popular TEDx talk about the Global Village. He lives with his family in a wonderfully isolated village in West Cumbria where he enjoys drinking tea, chatting with the birds and winding up his dog. You can support his work (or just buy him a coffee) here.