Primary Times - the definitive what’s on and where to go family guide of activities and events for children of primary school age. Things to do with your kids during the school holidays including arts and craft activities, music and theatre for children, parties, competitions, days out, and family attractions along with term time drama schools, dance classes, after school clubs and sports activities. Things to do at a place near you!
Shakespeare Untold: The Party Planner's Tale - Romeo and Juliet Reader's Review
Shakespeare Untold: The Party Planner's Tale - Romeo and Juliet
Primary Times reader quote
"I liked the way it was a modern take on the story"
- Kayla and Katie aged 12
The renowned London-based theatre company, Shakespeare's Globe, are touring the UK with this clever play which reworks the story of Romeo and Juliet, playing with the tale in an original and striking way, making it immediately more accessible to a younger audience.
Our heroine in this one-actor show is Cerise, the very best, the one and only, party planner in the whole of Verona. If you want to have a massive fancy-dress party, inviting the great and the good of the whole city (well, apart from the rival family that you hate), who would you go to other than Cerise? As she cleans up the mess from the Capulet ball, literally and metaphorically, she gossips away, giving us her take on the latest news about the star-crossed lovers. Famous lines from Shakespeare are worked into her report, and the overwhelming sense is one of immediacy and topicality (#ScandalInVerona!). I felt that Cerise (brilliantly played by Sally Lofthouse) had a great rapport with her audience, and she involved the children in populating elements of the story with amusing and striking ideas.
Kayla and Katie (both aged 12) commented ‘I was impressed how the one lady did it all, and how she included the audience’s ideas’. Working on different levels, this play can serve as an introduction to the story for younger children, or as a way to encourage older children, familiar with the story, to focus on the timeless messages in the text. Either way, it is definitely highly suitable for children aged 8+, though I think that it did hold the attention of younger children who were in the audience, as well as the adults. Amusing, enjoyable, interesting and very well executed: one of the most original plays I have ever seen on the Fringe.
Reviewed by Iain McKendrick 9 August