Review: Romeo & Juliet at Maynardville 2024, infused with a millennial energy by young leads and knockout performances by veteran thespians

I thoroughly enjoyed Romeo & Juliet at Maynardville Open-Air Festival 2024. There was a standing ovation on the evening that I was there. Infused with a millennial energy by the young leads and knockout performances by the veteran thespians, Romeo & Juliet, directed by Geoff Hyland is positioned as timeless and interminable. It could be happening anywhere at any time. The story of Romeo and Juliet – the doomed lovers – who cannot transcend the fissures and ruptures between their families and communities – is heart breaking and tragic. Love is not able to conquer all. We know that it won’t end well. We are told in the prologue what is what is going to occur – that the “star-crossed,” couple are powerless against the stars and the universe. As John Maytham as the Prince narrates the prologue, I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation. Maytham, with his full bodied voice is mesmerising- shredded with omniscience, tenderness, sadness. He is a voice artist and the gravitas of his presence lingers throughout the production. This is an award winning performance. It is a flummoxed Prince who utters in the epilogue that these people have effectively murdered their own offspring and crushed their love for each other. The violence and rupture is heightened in the epilogue.

Watching this production, for me there was a sense of pondering how it would end. I obviously know that the young lovers die and yet…. I think that the yearning of the young energetic leads – Juliet (Simone Neethling) and Romeo (Nahum Hughes) textures this production with a whimsy and a lightness in the outdoor theatre setting. There is a sense that perhaps that Romeo and Juliet may transcend their destinies, amongst the ruins of a landscape that we see them navigate. Hyland’s set concept (with input by Jenni-Lee Crewe) is scattered with stone/concrete plinths. They are cracked and pitted by the ravages of time. Once they were monumental and this is all that remains. The set pings for me in terms of the Fallist movement in South Africa, Rhodes Must Fall. Monuments were pulled down by activist students. Plinths and pedestals remained. In Romeo & Juliet at Maynardville 2024, I get a profound sense of the utter desecration of young lives by politics and people in power.  

Oliver Hauser’s lighting shimmering design shrouds the lovers in a luminescent light, framed by the trees at Maynardville. The costume design by Tineill Tredoux is beautiful and subtle –love the green gowns which reverberate against the verdant green of Maynardville.

I saw Romeo & Juliet on the media night, on its 3^rd performance. I felt that it needed time to cook into itself and for some of what I thought patchy bits, to meld together.  I was hoping to see the production again before writing my review but have not got there yet, so here I am. For instance, there is a wondrous musical interlude with stunning choreography by Mbongeni N. Mtshali and stirring soundscape (sound design by David Classen). Simone Neethling (Juliet) is a superb dancer and with the physical movement, I thought that there would be more but there wasn’t. I loved the movement and music. I am told that the music is a mash-up of themes from TV shows and original musical by VR Theatrical’s Wessel Odendaal.

A few people remarked that the accents are inconsistent. I don’t mind this. I like it that the actors speak in different accents – and bring accent, argot and their own interpretations to the roles.

Hyland has trimmed the play down from over three hours to just over an hour and 40 minutes. It’s a smart edit which makes the play very accessible to an audience siting at an outdoor theatre venue. There is no interval so make sure, you use the bathroom before. I like the non-interruption of an interval – which facilitates the build-up of tension. However, as evidenced by some audience activity, with exits and entrances, this may be challenging for some.

Geoff Hyland’s Romeo & Juliet for Maynardville 2024 is a gripping stripped down production – without the mawkishness and frippery that often frames this play. There are no silly balconies and ornamentation. The young leads do well and in addition to John Maytham, there are outstanding performances from vet thesps such as Rehane Abrahams (Lady Montague/ Mercutio), Tessa Jubber (Lady Capulet) and Mbulelo Grootboom (Montague) and Pat Pillai (Capulet). It was wonderful to see Mihir Soni (Paris). I first saw him in a community theatre production, The Great Gatsby. I am a big fan of the young and talented Tailyn Ramsamy (Benvolio), Jock Kleynhans (Tybalt) and their ability to get deep into character. It is great to see them in R&J.

Kudos to Geoff Hyland for casting out of the net of so-called professional theatre and for mashing up young emerging talents with seasoned thespians in this stimulating, conceptually layered Romeo & Juliet.

✳ Juliet (Simone Neethling) and Romeo (Nahum Hughes) in Romeo & Juliet at Maynardville Open-Air Festival 2024, Cape Town. Photo: Domenic Gorin. Supplied.