Branagh Theatre Live: Romeo and Juliet

A recording of Kenneth Branagh's London staging. The production played at the Garrick Theatre and was filmed in the summer of 2016. Branagh directed it with Rob Ashford. The staging moves the text to Italy in the 1950s. That choice changes temperament as much as costume and music: family honour, street fighting and fast decisions sit close to the register of Italian cinema of that period. The recording was made in black and white and in widescreen; so although it is a record of a stage production, the image has preferences of its own. One casting decision stands out: Derek Jacobi plays Mercutio. The part is usually imagined as Romeo's contemporary; here an old man plays him, and the character's mockery, close to death, takes on an entirely different meaning. Richard Madden plays Romeo, Lily James plays Juliet and Meera Syal the Nurse. A solid record for anyone who likes Shakespeare in performance and filmed theatre. For a viewer expecting a screen adaptation, this is not a film; the camera watches the stage and the location does not change.