The warring Houses of Montague and Capulet are resurrected in the wild west, with the star-crossed lovers in cowboy boots, gingham and Stetsons. Director Sean Holmes’s high concept production might have been preposterous and, initially, the idea speaks louder than the play, but by turns it woos, bewitches and becomes irresistible.
Romeo (Rawaed Asde) and his brawling compatriots wear holsters while Tybalt (Calum Callaghan) is referred to as something of a lone ranger. There is a blood-smear – as visual foreshadowing – at the back of Paul Wills’s incredibly handsome clapboard set, which has a Shaker-like simplicity: three swinging saloon-bar doors and an upstairs window which opens to a band of musicians that includes a harmonica and banjo player.
