AUDREY WRITES:
On a mid November Saturday afternoon, a group of
members of ASEDOW gathered to attend a production by English Theatre Madrid of
William Shakespeare's famous play, Romeo and Juliet.
The play was set in much more modern times, 1980's
Britain, than the original which allowed the costume department to dress some
of the actresses in "power shoulders", reflecting the women's fashion
trend of that epoch of wearing shoulder pads sewn into blouses, jackets and
coats.
Nobody wore this fashion better than the late Margaret
Thatcher, whose authoritative persona was chosen to replace the Prince in the
original version. Her portrait was centre stage throughout the play, together
with two placards, one to the left and one to the right, representing the
British Labour and Conservative parties respectively to depict the rivalry
between the two families.
The tragic theme of the play was given a dash of
levity thanks to a brilliant interpretation by the actors of a script which
remained true to the original old English while adding a touch of modernity and
poetry to several of the lines.
It was further enlivened by the inclusion of some
1980's pop music, either recorded or sung live, which served to complement the
action on stage, most memorably in a superbly choreographed scene, featuring
part of Michael Jackson's "Thriller", which caused the audience to
break into spontaneous applause. However, the loudest acclamation came at the
end of the play in tribute to a highly talented cast who provided a most
entertaining and enjoyable performance of Shakespeare's timeless classic.
