Romeo and Juliet indulge in a little time travel, ending up in a world of 1950s teddy boys and violent rockers. The play is alternating with a brutal contemporary story called “Pigeon English” with equally scary undertones — knife crime and gang warfare.These two plays, in repertory at London’s Ambassadors Theatre, celebrate the 60th anniversary of the UK’s National Youth Theatre (NYT), which has long been the breeding ground of star performers including Daniel Day-Lewis, Helen Mirren, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Orlando Bloom. It could very well be that the actors, who go through a rigorous selection process, are the big names of tomorrow – and you saw them here first.“Romeo and Juliet” is especially impressive, with imaginative directing by Kate Hewitt. In a nice contrast to the “static listener syndrome” so often seen in Shakespeare productions, many of the cast are given something to do while others speak – swigging from a hip-flask, practicing their dance moves, taking part in a grouse shoot, or just smoking. (The cast must smoke themselves silly during the evening.) The dance sequence after Capulet’s “’tis gone” line is masterful.The fine young cast includes James Mace as a lively Romeo, and Shalisha James-Davis as Juliet. Tybalt, originally written as the son of Lady Capulet’s brother, is played by actress Seraphina Beh.“Pigeon English” is a more challenging play, based on the Man Booker-shortlisted debut novel of the same name by Stephen Kelman, and adapted for the stage by Gbolahan Obisesan. The standout is Seraphina Beh again, who plays the main character Harri, an 11-year-old Ghanaian immigrant living on a rough council estate. The part is a big one, and Beh, who is just 22, handles it confidently and with nice timing, right up to her final demise in an echo of her departure as Tybalt. In the original book, the boy hero Harrison Opoku investigates the death of a friend, coming up against mugging and hoodie hoodlums. We can expect much the same to happen here.This working-class territory is getting very popular again on the London stage – “Herons” and “Yen” being two more examples. In “Pigeon English,” a church is smashed up and a playground set on fire. The dialogue ranges from kid’s jokes mixing up “happiness” and “a penis”; confusion on racist taunts such as “fuzzy wuzzy,” and some almost-poetry as “sitting pretty” rhymes with “gritty,” “shitty,” and “city.” The minimalistic climbing-frame set leads to actors occasionally informing us of the location of the following scene: “school,” “the street,” “Harri’s flat” – but usually, this is simply not needed.The NYT is something of a national treasure that deserves our support. About 5,000 young people aged between 14 and 25 years old audition each year; some 500-750 are accepted, and only the best of these make it to the top productions. Previous suggestions that it was a middle-class preserve can be shot down: purists may chafe, but like most of the West End, the sex and race of characters is readily changed even where it seems implausible.The energy of all the performers is undoubted, and many are already showing a professionalism well beyond their drama-school years. There are two takeaways from all this: do go and see the plays, “Romeo and Juliet” especially. Also, among a strong ensemble, remember the name Seraphina Beh, who may end up ranking among other famous NYT alumni.
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