The Oratory Preparatory adopts a South African theme for Romeo and Juliet

The organisers of the 2007 Shakespearean Schools Festival called for directors to make the scripts relevant to their pupils. ‘The more creative the interpretation the better,’ they said. The Oratory Preparatory School responded by introducing a South African theme to their production of Romeo and Juliet. The Festival was regarded as the most exciting yet, taking place across the whole of the United Kingdom and involving over 1050 performances in 107 theatres from Shetland to the Channel Islands. The Oratory’s performance was staged at the Wilde Theatre which is part of the South Hill Park Arts Centre at Bracknell.

     The Oratory’s production involved the same complications, brawls and outcomes as the original but demonstrated that Shakespeare is as relevant today as he was four hundred years ago. Staging the play in South Africa was a way of asserting the reality of Shakespeare in contemporary life. In keeping with Shakespearean theatre, the play made limited use of scenery and props. The Bard relied more on the ‘imaginary’ forces of the audience than on realistic effects.
       There was little need for the Oratory to tamper with the script and there were very few changes in names of characters and places. The action took place in Vryburg and Romeo found himself banished to the infamous Robben Island. The Capulets were dressed in white and the ‘Montazulus’ in black to clearly indicate the sides involved in the struggle.
       The British government, of course, tries to keep the peace. It is their ambassador (Alex Frank), resplendent in the colours of the Union Jack who banishes Romeo (Edward Hiscox) to Robben Island. It is a decision that triggers off a series of problems as Juliet (Paloma Robinson) receives ill-fated advice from a well-meaning missionary, Father Lawrence (Tom Symons), and Romeo visits the local Inyanga or witchdoctor (Max Trainer /Hugo Kendall) to obtain poison.

Romeo and Juliet were the outstanding performers on the evening but all the leading characters rose to the occasion. Everything, of course, goes wrong for the confused and distressed Capulets (Kit Monro and Charlotte Wilson) and Montazulus (George Lockhart and Alice Engbers). The Capulets had hoped Paris (Robert Huysinga) would take the hand of their Juliet but circumstances are against the marriage. There was little that the talkative and playful nurse (Charlotte Woodward) or the serious and compassionate Father Lawrence could do to save the situation.

The South African conflict intrigued the pupils and they revelled in the drama of the tragic street fights. Henry Cope bristled with aggression as the hot-headed Tybalt whilst Charles Wicks was appropriately provocative and persistent as the trouble-stirring Mercutio. They contrasted effectively with Benvolio (Zachary Mason) whose calm influence was clearly portrayed.