Tackling one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays, with a 26-strong cast, amateur company Gone Rogue are bringing their theatrical efforts to the Nuffield Theatre on campus for the first time.
Directors Jamie Hemingway and Sally White told us they’ve been focusing on “the intricate web of relationships” in the play – and seeing them in rehearsal a month before the curtain goes up, this has certainly been effective across the entire cast. The larger ensemble scenes that open the play are pacy and slick, with an excellent group effort provided by the Montague and Capulet rabble that creates the pivotal rivalry from the off.
The more intimate scenes showcase some of the cast’s finest talent: there’s no doubt that Amy Fitzgibbon’s performance as Nurse will bring the house down, and Rhys Hillan and Sarah Divall are gut-wrenchingly sweet as the eponymous lovers of the play.
A mix of Theatre Group veterans and absolute newcomers, it remains to be seen if the entire company will live up to White’s description of them as “extremely talented” – but my money’s on yes.
Romeo and Juliet is on at the Nuffield Theatre from 11th to 14th February. Tickets can be purchased on the Nuffield website.
