Casting twist turns Romeo into a girl and that works just fine

Casting a female actor as Romeo is not as unusual as it sounds, according to Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble’s Rob Pensalfini, and the proof is in the pudding because their new production of a Shakespeare classic is terrific.

Sarah Doyle stars as Juliet in the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble’s production of Romeo and Juliet.

If you like rom-coms maybe Romeo and Juliet isn’t for you. Written by William Shakespeare early in his career (around 1597) it’s a tale of two young Italian star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families - the Montagues and Capulets. It was among Shakespeare‘s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed works.

Juliet (Sarah Doyle) and Romeo (Liliana Macarone) in Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble’s latest offering

Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble’s Romeo & Juliet doesn’t mess with the text, as far as I can tell, and neither does it gloss over the tragedy.

This production, directed by QSE’s Rob Pensalfini and presented at The Amphitheatre, Roma Street Parkland, is a gem of a show and I don’t need any excuse for getting a good dose of The Bard. It’s like tonic, a balm for the soul and the intellect.

Mind you I was a bit confused at first thinking that Pensalfini might be giving us a new take on the love story since both Romeo and Juliet are played by female actors - Sarah Doyle is Juliet and Liliana Macarone is Romeo, but Pensalfini explains that clearly.

“You’d probably be disappointed if I didn’t say something about the choice to cast a woman in the role of Romeo,” he writes in the program notes. “It’s not such a radical idea and in fact female Romeos were somewhat the norm in the mid 19th Century (Charlotte Cushman being the most famous). The Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble has been pairing uncommon casting with textual fidelity for the entire twenty years of our existence and we find that practices such as cross-casting and re-gendering (which does not happen in this production) serve to highlight the sociopolitical themes in the plays - in this case gender, age and class.”

Of course I guess youth suicide is another theme that must be considered in this play because both leading characters take their own lives which makes it tough viewing at times when you consider that.

John Siggers is menacing as Tybalt

Shakespeare didn’t shirk from difficult themes though and his tragedies are searingly honest about confronting the darker side of life. And the language, my god, it’s so satisfying to sit and let his words wash over you and there are so many classic lines in this play ...

“a plague on both your houses” and Romeo’s lament, “Oh I am fortune’s fool!”. Who hasn’t been at times.

And then there is the utter romance of Romeo’s vision of Juliet ....

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.” Pure poetry ... in iambic pentameter of course.

Macarone is terrific as Romeo and Sarah Doyle is a great Juliet and everyone else is terrific with a special mention for John Siggers as a menacing Tybalt (he plays two other roles as well) who meets an untimely end.

Pensalfini himself appears as Friar Lawrence and he is solid and has the sort of gravitas that comes from a lifetime of studying and performing Shakespeare.

Rob Pensalfini is terrific as Friar Lawrence in Romeo & Juliet

And this a clear articulation of the play ... perfectly paced so we can keep up and let the words soak in.

Despite the tragedy there are a few lighter moments but overall it’s a pretty grim tale with a high body count. Of course this is where West Side Story got its theme about two warring gangs. In this case it’s the houses of Montague and Capulet in Verona who are in conflict and it’s sad that it takes the death of two young lovers to bring their war to an end.

I love The Amphitheatre setting with the play presented in reverse mode so you are sitting on the stage looking out which is funny at times, watching people walking past with their dogs and the like. I should add that it’s nice to have music too from the group Maiden Blush led by Pensalfini, a multi talented man.

It’s on for a couple more weeks at various times. I went to a twilight show at 6pm which was lovely.

I think we all need a good dose of Shakespeare ...now more than ever so I urge you to go along and get yours.

book at qldshakepseare.org