Reviews

After tramping around Walsh Bay for some time, I eventually found The Rebel Theatre up many stairs beyond the Bell Shakespeare headquarters. My reward was the most spectacular, up-close, wrap-around view of the Harbour Bridge it was possible to have: thank you.

Named in honour of ATYP alumni Rebel Wilson, the theatre, once attained, has a laid-back open stage, ideal for a show like this – lots of bits and pieces, lots of popping ideas, brilliant for making you feel part of the action. And the swanky first-night audience were certainly up for joining in.

The story of Romeo & Juliet is refreshingly told in this production by going back to the fundamental elements of the play. The casting of the show is particularly well done. Romeo (Wolfgang Reed) and Juliet (Tiffany Wong) capture the youthful and exuberant nature of the characters perfectly. They are dreamy but not naive and they are passionate but not unthinking. Reed gives his Romeo a great deal of charm and Wong strikes a good balance between innocence and determination. The role of Nurse (Alison Whyte) is given incredible shape and importance.

In this impeccable show, every element – text, cast, direction, costumes, set design, sound and lighting – all cohere into a brilliant piece of theatre.  It is fun, it is funny, it is sharp and dazzling, and we are often dumbfounded at just how good it is – several cuts above so much else that is on offer.

Neil Simon was a prolific and award-winning playwright, his works from the 1960s such as Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple hugely popular with audiences and critics. When he wrote Rumors (sic) in 1988, his own marriage was breaking up and he thought he’d write his first farce. The focus of Simon’s work was often the everyday lives and challenges of middle-class people, exploring marital friction for laughs, so this shouldn’t have been a stretch for him.