Sleep Spent

Believe it or not, last night I went to see a performance of Romeo and Juliet by an Icelandic circus troupe.

You didn’t misread that.

It was the most unusual adaptation of Shakespeare I’ve ever seen (not that I’m any sort of expert on these things), and it was really, really good. There were parts I didn’t like (the MC was grating, and I had issues with Mercutio), but on the whole the performance was outstanding.

When I say circus, I mean it. After the introduction (with a bit of a fright over which language they would be using), Tybalt and Co. show you just how very bad ass they are by breathing fire. Romeo was a trapeze artist, Juliet a connoisseur of the hanging ring, and the Prince a 9-year-old who was far too adept at back flips. This does not in any way mean that their Shakespeare was sub-par; the actors delivered the only slightly modified script very well, and surprisingly by the book.

The only thing I found troubling about the performance was its excessive use of bawdy humor. On this point, most of the people in my group disagreed with me. I know that Romeo and Juliet is a bawdy play, and I don’t think that the way they played every double entendre up was entirely out of line with the way it was played in Shakespeare’s time. But dammit, the consummation scene was so beautiful! Why couldn’t they just stick with stuff they did well? I don’t need Mercutio to grab his crotch 300 times to get what he’s talking about.

Perhaps this comes down to the fact that my taste in humor tends to the subtle. I enjoy The Office and lists. I like things that it takes insight and/or intelligence to get. Saying something that could be interpreted in a naughty way is one thing; forcing the naughty interpretation down the audience’s throat is quite another. Not only is it crude, but it destroys the enjoyment I get out of picking up on the other interpretations myself. I don’t need to be force-fed the fact that “prick” can mean two things.

takes a deep breath

Apart from that, I really liked the performance. Paris was far and away my favorite character. He is under-developed in Shakespeare’s play, but he played a pretty central role in this production as a smarmy lounge singer with NO fashion sense. His rendition of Nat King Cole’s classic “L-O-V-E” was priceless, and the dismissive way the other characters treat him pretty well left me feeling sorry for the guy. Not to the point of actually wanting him to get the girl, but to the point of wanting to make him an appointment with the “What Not to Wear” chicks.

Friar Lawrence smoked pot with Jesus, Jesus sang at the wedding (accompanied by the entire audience blowing bubbles), and the nurse was a 110 kg man with a beard. Talk about messing with expectations!

If you get a chance to see this performance, it’s recommended. You’ll have a blast! Just leave the kids at home.