The story of the “star-crossed lovers” has been told time and again with directors aiming to give their own interpretation of Shakespeare’s masterpiece. For the latest version of Romeo & Juliet by the Singapore Repertory Theatre, director Daniel Slater has set the play in a quasi-contemporary setting with a nod to street gangs of West Side Story.With a grand multi-level stage, designed by Francis O’Connor, illuminated as a reminder of the characters’ houses and settings — red for the Capulets and blue for the Montagues — together with a crack through the stage symbolic of the rift between the waring houses, and a backdrop that doubles as a semi-abstract church, the play easily progresses without other décor changes, and the two-tone dress code by costume designer Moe Kassim makes it easy for the audience to immediately identify on which side of the feud the more minor characters are. Kassim adds an unnecessary nod to the Singapore venue, with the guests being dressed in Chinese and Malay outfits at the Capulet’s masked ball where Juliet and Romeo first set eyes on each other.Of course what has always been most important for this play is that the two leads have the require chemistry to make the whirlwind romance believable and its inevitable doom ending emotional, and this production is well served by the pairing of Cheryl Tan as Juliet and Thomas Pang as Romeo, both of whom bring youthful, wide-eyed emotion, while also being at ease with each other in the more tender scenes.The strong and evenly matched cast is able to easily bring Shakespeare's poetry to life, making it feel contemporary. Remesh Panicjker as Lord Capulet first turns on the charm with his debonair demeanor before transforming to a menacing father bullying Juliet into a wedding she doesn’t want, while Victoria Mintey as his wife appears rather distant from her husband and daughter, more preoccupied with the rather sly nephew, Tybalt (Mitchell Lagos). Jo Kukathas plays Juliet’s Nurse as an over-indulging confidant, though some of the comedy is lost.Romeo and Juliet runs until May 22 at Fort Canning Park
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