观众点评: 无锡市文化馆 周宇

“哈特伯瑞克话剧演出团创建于1991年,以制作和演出英国经典著作名句为主,通过幽默诙谐的对白、精致巧妙的情景和题材吸引观众。此次演出也体现了剧团这个鲜明的特色。

他们的戏剧道具简单却实用,背静以简笔画为主勾勒场景,简洁明快,充满了英式幽默的意味。删减了一些剧情及部分人物, 故事简化,虽然缺乏对于人物性格深层次的展现,但却多了许多采用肢体与动作表达人物的内容,使得主要人物更加突出,整体节奏明快,较容易为普通观众所接受。剧中人物的表演是值得称道,一些小的桥段诙谐幽默,人物性格鲜明,打斗也十分精彩。

在人物的刻画上,剧中的演员们着重从表演的细节上表现人物性格,如朱丽叶的天真可爱,迈丘西奥的公子哥气,提博尔特的好斗,都得到了较好的展现。表演中,演员们采用了真刀实枪来表现打斗的场景,不由让人为他们捏了一把汗。

故事讲解人的设置使得观众能快速便捷地掌握剧情。

不足之处,全英文的演出与字幕的配合不够密切,有待改进。

总的来说,这是一部适合于全家人一同观赏的剧目,领略一下莎翁著作的风情。

Audience reviews:  Zhou Yu, Wuxi Cultural Museum

This performance in particular reflects the distinctive characteristics of the theatre company. Heartbreak Productions was founded in 1991 it is renowned for bringing modern theatrical techniques,  humour and sensibility to English classics.

The props are simple but practical, the backdrop mainly sketches the scenes through simple lines, which are nevertheless lively and full of English humour.  The stripped-back performance keeps essential roles and simplifies the story, though this may reduce the depth of character portrayals the essential elements are magnified and made even more memorable.

The production cleverly employs illustrative actions to replace some of the longer conversations, this works especially well for overseas audiences, who may have a limited understanding of the English language.

It is worth mentioning that the show is very witty and filled with humorous moments, in addition, the stage fighting is truly awesome and the acting top-notch, each character is played fantastically to the details. For example, Juliet’s innocence and cuteness, and  Mercutio’s playboy style, Tybalt’s belligerence … etc all really come across well.  In the fighting scenes,  the actors use metal swords and the fighting is intense, fierce and gripping.

The implementation of a narrator also really helps the audience to follow the story easily. 

In all, this show was very enjoyable and catered to all families, it offers a rare chance to have a taste of Shakespeare’s works in China. 

无锡市小白鸽少儿艺术团 邓寅冰:

今天在无锡演艺剧场观看了由英国哈特伯瑞克话剧演出团表演的话剧《罗密欧与朱丽叶》。

莎翁戏剧《罗密欧与朱丽叶》诞生至今已有四百多年,时代的变迁让人类的语言、生活习惯发生了极大的变化。时至今日,非专业研究人员和发烧友,恐怕没人有这样的耐心以及审美能力去欣赏原汁原味的《罗密欧与朱丽叶》了。但作为戏剧经典,人们观赏这部戏剧的兴趣依旧强烈。因此,对莎翁戏剧进行改编,使之更适合当代观剧群体的口味,就成了理所当然的事了。

英国哈特伯瑞克话剧演出团表演的《罗密欧与朱丽叶》,在保留主线剧情的基础上,精简了出场人物,将原剧中的罗萨兰、帕里斯伯爵、凯普莱特夫人、劳伦斯神父等角色删去,仅保留至关重要的主要人物,又删去了原剧中大段大段的十四行诗、无韵诗,让角色用通俗易懂的口语进行表达。这样的改编,固然让人物的性格变得扁平,情感不够丰满,却也有利于让不甚精通文墨的普通人能够沉浸在经典的故事之中,尽情地感受戏剧的魅力。

因为剧情、台词已被改编得尽可能简单,因而演员们演出时十分轻松。但轻松不代表可以不认真。从今天的演出来看,这部剧哈特伯瑞克话剧演出团应该已经排演过无数次了。演员们在台上台下的表现完全可以说是游刃有余。

BothRomeoJulliet

演出刚开始的时候,我并未太在意演员们的演技。直到罗密欧与朱丽叶初遇的那场舞会,我才被演员——尤其是朱丽叶——的演技稍稍惊艳到了。朱丽叶在跳舞时不断回眸窥视罗密欧的动作和神态,充满了情窦初开的少女的那种灵动与天真。这一瞬间,让我想起了娜塔莉·波特曼在《星球大战前传2:克隆人的进攻》中的表演。

而此后,市场打斗的戏更将演员排演此剧无数次后所积累的功底展露无遗。战斗到最 激烈处,我女儿都害怕得闭上了眼睛,而我也非常担心演员的安全。毕竟为了追求舞台效果,他们手中的剑都是实打实的金属条。虽然没有开刃,但不小心被抽一下或刺一下,也得疼半天。而后来凯普莱特家的士兵追捕罗密欧的戏,演员台上台下四处追逐,彼此配合十分默契,对场地也很熟悉,显示出他们早已提前做过功课,并非虚应了事。

除了演员演技之外,舞美设计也颇值得称道。粗看舞台,几个灰突突的大箱子零散堆砌,角落里藏着一个带万向轮的阳台模型,似乎很简陋。但开演之后,才知这些箱子彼此组合,既可以当桌子,也能当床、当石台,着实用处颇多。舞台背后的大屏幕,则用简笔画的形式,为观众勾勒出了市场、阳台、朱丽叶卧室、阳台等不同场景,画面清新有趣。

本剧的改编添加了一些诙谐幽默的动作细节。比如在市场上,当朱丽叶的奶妈来找罗本剧的改编添加了一些诙谐幽默的动作细节。比如在市场上,当朱丽叶的奶妈来找罗 密欧时,茂丘西奥将绳子放于胯下,以及在朱丽叶的卧室,奶妈曾经有过掀起裙子的动作,具有性意味,给成年人博众人一笑。

今天这场演出为我团的孩子们提供了接触莎翁戏剧的机会,在他们幼小的心里埋下了

一粒种子。多年之后,这颗种子或许成长为一棵热爱戏剧的苍天大树

Deng Yanbin- Principal, Wuxi Little Dove Childrens Performing Arts School

“Today we watched the play Romeo and Juliet performed by the British Heartbreak Productions at  Wuxi Performing Arts Theater.

More than 400 years have passed since Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” was written,

speech and living habits have changed dramatically since then and this can sometimes make it hard for modern audiences to connect with a Shakespeare performance.

However, because it is a classic play,  people are still interested in seeing it, therefore, it is great to see a version that remains faithful to the original’s spirit while being adapted to contemporary taste and understanding.

Heartbreak Productions has kept the main themes intact but streamlined the appearance of fringe characters including Rosalan, Earl Paris, Lady Capulet, Father Lawrence and other minor characters. They have also deleted most 14 lines sonnets and many other non-rhyme poems in the original play. Instead, they let the characters express this material through plain English. 

Such adaptation of course means less authenticity but helps to give the non experienced Shakespear audience a fuller comprehension of these characters motives and actions, as it helps audience members, who have no background knowledge of English literature immerse themselves in the classic storytelling and enjoy the charms of a dramatic performance without the extra barrier of the archaic language.

The simplified lines and plot provide the actors with a relatively easier performing burden and they appear very relaxed and confident on stage while delivering a very focused and committed performance. It can be seen that the production is very well-rehearsed and this has provided the actors with plenty of confidence and flexibility to show off their acting skills freely.   

When the show started, I didn’t pay much attention to the actors’ acting skills focusing instead on the story and novel delivery. It wasn’t until the scene of the dance party where Romeo and Juliet first met that I suddenly noticed the brilliance and subtlety of the performance; for example in Juliet’s act: When she was dancing with someone else, she kept turning around spying on Romeo, demonstrating the kind of ingenuity and innocence of a young girl at the first awakening of love. It was very well judged and reminded me of Natalie Portman performance. 

The fight scenes are also very real and intense. The scene of the market fight spoke of numerous hours of hard rehearsal.  At the point of the fighting climax,  my daughter closed her eyes in fear, and I was very worried about the safety of the actors because the swords in their hands are real metal. Although they don’t have sharp edges, it would still hurt immensely if an accidental hit were to occur.

In the scene of chasing Romeo, Capulet’s soldiers were searching and chasing him on and off the stage, and the synchronisation between actors was immaculate, showing that they had done their homework well prior to the show, in what must have been an unfamiliar venue. 

In addition to the actors’ acting skills, the stage design is also quite striking.  At first glance, the props seem very simple: a few grey boxes scattered here and there,  a simple balcony model hidden in the corner… Then as the show progresses, we learn that these boxes can be put together in all kinds of ingenious combinations to simulate a multitude of things; such as tables, beds, or a stone platform, etc…. I was impressed, it was very imaginative and practical, ideal for a travelling troupe. The backdrop was projected with sketches like a market, a building with a balcony, Juliet’s bedroom interior, balcony scene…etc…it was stylishly done and was fresh and interesting to our eyes. 

The adaptation of this play presents a more humorous take than the typical Romeo and Juliet, while still retaining the essence of the great tragedy. For example, in the market, when Juliet’s nurse came to meet Romeo, Mercutio put a rope between his legs in a suggestive manner; or the scene in Juliet’s bedroom, where the nanny raised her skirt, these  bawdy actions produced a laugh  from the adults present without  overdoing it, or moving into pantomime.  This show has given the children of our performing arts school a very enjoyable and rare opportunity to taste a Shakespear play in English and I am sure this has planted a seed in their young hearts.  In time I’m sure this seed will grow into a huge tree, expressing their love and appreciation for the best in theatre and drama.