The Geometry of Love: Romeo and Juliet
A.R.T’s Romeo and Juliet is a stunningly beautiful reimagining
Romeo and Juliet. It’s a story of star-crossed lovers, an ancient family feud, a romance that was doomed from the start. Many of us have read the script in high school, have heard quoted excerpts, or have watched adaptations of this tragedy. Director Diane Paulus drives the questions: “In what ways do we define our lives through hatred? In what ways do we define our lives through love?”
Given that the plot is so well-known, the challenge of emphasizing this theme lies in making the other elements of the play stand out, which is exactly what the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) does. A.R.T., a theater at Harvard University, runs Romeo and Juliet from the end of August to early October. Despite limited spacing, Paulus has made Romeo and Juliet a stunningly geometric visual piece, with the lighting and stage design as standout parts of her creative design. She makes Romeo and Juliet not just a play you want to read or listen to, but a play you want to truly watch.
The lighting, designed by Jen Schriever, is shaped so parts of the stage are almost always lit in clear blocks, furthering the contrast between the light and darkness. Colored lights sharpen the focus of the lovers meeting at Juliet father’s party; negatives and shadows dramatize the anguish of Tybalt’s murder and of Juliet’s family mourning her faked death. By just looking at a single snapshot of any moment on stage, the lighting design makes clear the story, emotions, and themes of the scene.
The play’s set, designed by Amy Rubin, is deceptively simple at first glance. Much like the complexities of the plot, the set and the lighting are revealed piece by piece. The main set piece for all of Act I is what looks to be a giant wooden block, but as the play progresses, the block is highly mobile and can be disassembled and reassembled into other components. The simplicity of the set adds to its versatility and observing its evolution makes the play more exciting.
Moreover, movement director and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui isn’t afraid to play around and use the stage to its full potential. Even when it’s just two characters talking at each other, or even with one character monologuing, the actors use up the full space of the stage. It makes moments of stillness purposeful, and draws the viewers in more. Another big theme of the play is fate and how one can’t cheat death. To draw this out, characters dance around the physicality of the stage, with height and separation of the stage often used to signify power and relationship dynamics in the play. Biblical references are made in many points; before Romeo flees away in Act II, he and Juliet mimic The Creation of Adam.
In addition to an innovative set and lighting design, Romeo and Juliet includes original music composed by Alexandre Dai Castaing. The music is never overpowering; instead, it hums and drones in the background, adding tension to the silence. The parts where it does shine through comes out strong; heavy beats rattle the stage with powerful monologues.
To tie this all together, the actors on stage themselves breathe life into the play. Mercutio (Clay Singer) is a standout in Act I. Singer plays him as initially whimsical and cynical, but his serious demeanor when he succumbs to his injuries is a juxtaposition of many throughout the play. His performance highlights the true ridicule of the entire family feud, and with his death Romeo and the audience grieves. Emilia Suárez, who plays Juliet, leans into anger to hammer in the consequences of hate and powerfully portrays grief. With her rage, she demands the audience to understand her frustration and commands the room to feel her heartbreak.
Paulus spins Romeo and Juliet into a truly unique vision that is visually stunning, cohesive, and innovative. The show toes the line of abstract and concrete, bold and conserved, and is an adaptation you’ll want to see.