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BrumHour saw The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the invite of The RSC.
By Dave Massey x.com/BrumHour
The Two Gentlemen of Verona at The RSC: The Other Place: Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐Fun, whimsical, and entertaining.
Directed by Joanna Bowman
On arriving in Milan from Verona, Proteus (Lance West) discovers his friend Valentine (Jonny Khan) has fallen for Sylvia (Siân Stephens). Despite having a love interest at home in the form of Julia (Aisha Goodman), Proteus wants Sylvia for himself.
This is an eighty-minute play without interval, and from the costumes and music style, it is set in the late 1990s. Adidas tracksuits, bucket hats, and bell-bottom jeans, and that’s just the men.
There is a huge metal walkway above with a circular chamber for Sylvia’s room, and two fire poles connect the walkway to the stage floor. The set faces four directions, with the audience facing each other from all sides. It is intimate and confrontational. The boxing ring shape is recognised by giving Julia some boxing gloves and a trainer (Katherine Toy).
The performances are excellent, Siân Stephens and Aisha Goodman standing out particularly. Regular Shakespeare goers will recognise all the themes in play, multiple setups converging, outcasts, the forest and the lyrical smoothness of Shakespeare’s words. This is a summer style show and it has all the fun moments of being so. Stealing every scene they were in, was Lossi the dog.
It is a very clean version of the late 90s, the characters are fun, and the actors confidently switch into musicians throughout, it adds plenty to the storytelling and shapes the mood. I didn’t really know who it was aimed at, it feels a little too cool for school in parts..
Fun, whimsical, and entertaining, The Two Gentlemen of Verona is at The RSC, The Other Place until 31st August 2025. Book tickets here: rsc.org.uk/the-two-gentlemen-of-verona.
