Juliet: A Revenge Comedy

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King

Show – Juliet: A Revenge Comedy

Playwright/s – Co-written by Ryan Gladstone and Pipa Mackie

Production Company/Theatre space – Monster Theatre, One Yellow Rabbit, High Performance Rodeo / Martha Cohen Theatre, Werklund Centre

Length – 1 Act (90 minutes)

Genre – Comedy (billed as a feminist action-comedy)

Premise – Juliet decides, since she’s only thirteen and known this boy for two days, that she shouldn’t kill herself, leading to the freeing of Lady Macbeth, Ophelia, Cleopatra, and Miranda; together they battle the Bard, his magic quill, and folio.

Why this play? Why now? – Wildly commercial, Shakespeare is always great fodder for playwrights. Also, topical – still.

Curiosities – When will this get to Stratford?

Notable Moment – standing over a puddle.

Notable writing – There are a lot of humourless feminist scripts out there, but this isn’t one of them. This play sparkles -- it’s clever and skewed for the adult. A lot of theatres use the word “hilarious” in their marketing of comedies – this one actually is.

Notable performances – All three are wildly talented. Co-writer Ryan Gladstone plays the Bard, the nurse, Prospero as a wizard, and a witch from MacBeth. He could have been one of the gang in Monty Python, such is his talent. Lili Beaudoin, as Juliet, not only has great comic timing but has some nice parkour moves as she hurls herself over the grave and climbs the railings of the balconies where the audience are. However, it is Carly Pokorandi who shines the brightest, playing a myriad of characters with split second changes. She never left us lost or confused as to who she was. The Bard often rolls over in his grave at these things, but in this case I’m sure he was laughing in his coffin.

Notable design/Production – Lighting Designer Jon Paterson, composer Drew Jurecka, and Costume Designer Nita Bowerman make this a nimble show that can tour easily.

Notable direction – There is no director listed, which I assume means it was co-created. This can spell doom but, here it works. The production is slick and professional. It would look at home on any main stage of any regional theatre.

One reason to see this show – For never was a story of more fun than this of Juliet. Get your tickets – run!