Mosaica@The Chocolate Factory: 14th – 17th July, 2010

Produced by Ellie Collyer-Bristow & Joe Fredericks for MokitaGrit in association with Mosaica@The Chocolate Factory.

Shakespeare meets Skins in this contemporary, urban rendering of Romeo and Juliet. Staged at the heart of what was once a disused industrial Chocolate Factory, now home to a hub of creative talent, Mosaica’s epic courtyard space becomes the ‘Verona council estate’. The youth are skateboarders, freerunners, dope smokers and aspiring artistes all caught up in the violence of gang warfare. Fusing movement, music and art with Shakespeare’s traditional verse, this edgy production breathes modern energy into a timeless tale.

Press

‘Inspiring and avant-garde…The arena is delicious and Adam Welsh exploits it to his advantage…As a production of Shakespeare, this is one of the most attention-retaining performances I’ve encountered…a piece that wraps itself around you, and presents its language like well prepared fine food – perfect to nibble and easy to digest, this trip to the chocolate factory is as fulfilling and magical as any a childhood dream’
(Extra Extra – Richard J Thornton)

‘Its most striking innovation is to use a group of free-runners, Team Invision, to manage the scene changes, their acrobatics providing a physical urgency and danger to proceedings…So many inventive touches and flourishes peppered throughout… an engaging evening, from an interesting production company who are proving themselves ones to watch.’
(There Ought To Be Clowns – Ian Foster)

‘This is a Kafka world of graffiti and noise, its urban, twenty-first-century violence bubbling only millimetres beneath its surface….updated in style, but refreshingly faithful to the text and to the narrative of star-crossed young lovers, doomed to die in this world of feud and patriarchal oppression. Unaware that both Romeo and Juliet are sitting in our midst, so immediate is the staging of the play, we observe the opening street battle between rival gangs, as athletic and violent as any gritty movie-rendition. Brilliantly effective, without the tired cliché of fake stage blood, knives flash and bodies are metaphorically ripped open, the pain of youthful exuberance, love and hate exploding viscerally in our minds and stomachs.’

‘directed with an astonishing appreciation and awareness of space, capturing the essence of the play and translating it with wit and humour’

‘Not often a scene change gets a round of applause. Here, the mundane act of stripping the bed of a teenage love-nest, or snatching washing from a strategically stretched line, is as magical and energized as the scenes they seamlessly interrupt.’
(British Theatre Guide – Kevin Quarmby)

‘I sat awestruck by the way in which the young performers move about the space – movements seem utterly effortless as their bodies move like liquid…free-runners slickly manipulate scene changes and Roger Martin’s tightly choreographed fight scenes incorporate dance and martial art-style movements…’

‘Esther Smith captures the innocence of Juliet with absolute perfection… the emotional depth that she provides Juliet with is unfaultable and impossible not to feel affected by… Kyle McFail is equally flawless in his portrayal of the troubled Romeo…as honest-a-Romeo that I can imagine: he doesn’t provide a text-book representation of love, but one filled with infatuation, elation, anxiety, lust and utter despair… The exceptional star-crossed lovers are supported by a strong and finely tuned cast…I felt that I was able to fully invest – emotionally and psychologically – in Welsh’s characters to a point of engrossment.’
(A Younger Theatre – Sammi Woolard)