EUSC’s Romeo and Juliet (2026) was a beautifully haunting performance: the audience was spellbound throughout by this classic teenage love story, with some nice comedic moments keeping the audience entertained.
With such a famous text to work with, the production complimented Shakespeare’s work with great effect, especially for a student production. Anya McChristie’s Juliet retained outstanding levels of youthfulness throughout, reminding audiences that Juliet is likely only thirteen. This youthful nature was also furthered by her costumes such as a simple white dress she wore for much of the performance, which clearly showed her naivety.
Many of the other performances were impressive, with Friar Lawrence (Hunter King)’s comedic timing and Mercutio (Noah Sarvesvaran)’s energy and stage presence clear highlights. The vivacity of many of the cast members was notable within lots of the fight scenes, although they seemed a bit unrealistic at times. I would also like to commend Sam Gearing’s Romeo: whilst sometimes he seemed nervous, elements of love-struck desperation shone through.
The lighting in much of Romeo and Juliet further complemented the ominous and youthful narrative, with colour shifts, spotlights and haze used to compliment the acting, making Jack Read’s work as Lighting Designer stand out. This was furthered by the music complementing much of the performance. I enjoyed the jazz elements juxtaposing certain more dramatic scenes. Indeed, the use of music, costume and staging culminated in the masquerade ball which was a highlight. A highly coordinated cast, beautiful music produced an overall impressive performance.
There were also moments during the performance which I felt were slower and less engaging — though I recognise that editing a script such as Romeo and Juliet is an insurmountable task, I did feel some of Act Two could have been cut.
Whilst there were certainly elements of the performance that reminded me it was a student production, I enjoyed this performance of Romeo and Juliet. If you can get yourself down to Pleasance Theatre before the run is over, I would totally recommend it.
Production Image by Andrew Morris (@andrewmorrisphotography) for EUSC