Romeo and Juliet at the Maynard Open-Air Festival, directed by Geoff Hyland.
The first time I viewed a live performance of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was in 1988, when our grade seven teacher, Andre Barnard, took our class group on a field trip to the Maynardville Open Air Theatre to see Romeo and Juliet on stage in plain air. It was many, many years ago, but it left a lasting impression, and I can still recall snippets of that night, the smell in the air, the beauty of the setting, the wonder of experiencing Shakespeare outdoors, the emotions coursing through my 12-year-old body at the time. I may be mistaken, but I hazard to say that it was in February 1988 that we visited Maynardville. Later that year – I remember that it was colder – we viewed the performance of A midsummer night’s dream with what was then a pioneering performance with huge puppets at the Baxter. I remember thinking, I would have loved to see that specific Midsummer night’s dream performance at Maynardville. Mr Barnard had a pivotal influence on my love for art and culture, which has stayed with me throughout my life.
Roughly a year ago, I took my daughter and a small group of friends to see Janni Young’s phenomenal production of Hamlet at the Baxter; I wrote about it here in March 2023. My daughter is an aspiring thespian, although she lays down the passion as often as she embraces it. Therefore, I jumped at the opportunity to take her to view the performance of Romeo and Juliet at this year’s Maynardville Open Air Festival.
The setting was as magical as I remembered it, although much, much smaller. The aroma of forest I recall from my youth (which must have been imagined) was replaced by the scents of delectable foods, cinnamon and coffee. There were so many people milling about, with school groups in uniform – I remember we were allowed to wear “civvies” on cultural outings, something to be grateful for.
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The production is wholly text-centred, forcing the audience to focus on making meaning of Shakespeare’s tragedy in our modern paradigm. The costumes are beautifully understated, to the point of showing convincing (actual physical) wear and tear.
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Geoffrey Hyland’s production of Romeo and Juliet did not disappoint. We sat riveted through the hour and 40-minute production, hanging on every word. The production is wholly text-centred, forcing the audience to focus on making meaning of Shakespeare’s tragedy in our modern paradigm. The costumes are beautifully understated, to the point of showing convincing (actual physical) wear and tear. The world is broken. The decor is stark and post-industrial within the natural setting, leading the audience into a kind of ontological dissonance that prevails throughout the production. Because isn’t this what tragedy does? It forces us to try to make sense of the senseless. Be it the tragic death of two fictional teenagers, or thousands in the Middle East.
Perhaps the most ingenious strategy Hyland employs is winning us over with moments of pure comedy, lulling the audience into a sense of false security. Perhaps all will be fine. Perhaps this time the star-crossed lovers will survive, and love will triumph. Isn’t this our natural inclination toward pain and suffering? The human spirit’s unquenchable search for hope.
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From the start, Hannah Borthwick’s phenomenal performance as Juliet’s nurse stole the show. I hung on her every word and drank in her mannerisms with great enjoyment.
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From the start, Hannah Borthwick’s phenomenal performance as Juliet’s nurse stole the show. I hung on her every word and drank in her mannerisms with great enjoyment, while all the while a flicker of recognition flashed at the back of my mind. She is the daughter of South African veterans Rika Sennet and James Borthwick, and by all accounts destined to become a household name herself.
The other stellar performance in this production came from a surprisingly zesty Mercutio, portrayed by Rehane Abrahams. Unbounded enthusiasm and energy practically sizzled from the stage in Mercutio’s scenes, with his demise tangibly shifting the entire atmosphere of the production from entertainment to a looming sense of dread and tragedy.
The greatest testament to Nahum Hughes’s sincere performance as a lovesick teenage boy, probably lies in my daughter’s instant infatuation. Saying that he made her swoon goes beyond cliché to reflect authenticity. Simone Neethling as Juliet repeatedly and gently broke my heart, submersing herself in the character wholly and completely, and rendering the Bard’s words with utterly convincing emotion. At times, I saw my own daughter walking across the stage, not as an actress, but as a tortured adolescent.
Other noteworthy performances include Jock Kleynhans as Tybalt, John Maytham as the Prince of Verona, Cleo Wesley as Friar Lawrence, and the Capulets portrayed by Tessa Jubber and Pat Phillai. The only performance that left me underwhelmed was that of Mihir Soni, although we may blame the character, Paris, for this lack of enthusiasm. That being said, his impressive stature did provide for a dashing antithesis to Romeo’s sweet adolescent demeanour.
As the curtain fell on the tragedy of Juliet and her Romeo, the house responded with abundant applause and a standing ovation. Judging from the audience response, I was not alone in my choice of favourites.
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I would like to think that this is what engaging with the work of Shakespeare does: it opens channels to long-repressed emotions. It opens our minds to digest those emotions lurking in the depths of our hearts, those emotions that may, if left unchecked, result in generational hate, in conflict and perhaps even in war.
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As we drove home through the darkness of loadshedding, our initial sizzling excitement upon leaving Maynardville was eventually replaced with testiness and quarrelling. This may have been due to the accident on the M3 on our way home, resulting in an hour-long trip with darkness being banished only by the string of red brake lights from the cars before us. Then I remembered that in 1988, after watching Romeo and Juliet and travelling back from Maynardville, Mr Barnard had become frustrated and irritated with “a one-horse-town traffic light”, turning the arduous journey back to the northern suburbs, after putting up with a group of adolescents, just that one bit too long and too much.
I would like to think that this is what engaging with the work of Shakespeare does: it opens channels to long-repressed emotions. It opens our minds to digest those emotions lurking in the depths of our hearts, those emotions that may, if left unchecked, result in generational hate, in conflict and perhaps even in war. With the air and the conversation cleared, we entered a dark, loadshed home, weary but fulfilled and, most importantly, at peace. In a world where everything seems to be confrontational, isn’t this the thing we need most? To clear the air, to hope, to find peace.
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