Review: Rosaline and Juliet, Lion and Unicorn Theatre

Camden Fringe 2024

“Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” Juliet laments, alone in her room. The familiar monologue plays out with Lara Lawman bringing life to the often dully recited lines. Before she really gets into the swing of things though, her cousin Rosaline bursts into the room. She’s just been stood up by the guy she’s been seeing at a party, and she’s not pleased about it.

It would be challenging to find someone who didn’t have a grasp of the basic story of Romeo and Juliet, whether they’ve suffered through it in GCSE English lit or swooned over Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 adaptation. Star-crossed lovers, kept apart by feuding families and befallen by tragedy; there have been endless variations on the theme since Shakespeare first appropriated Arthur Brooke’s 1562 poem and turned it into the cultural stalwart it is today. After more than 430 years, you might imagine that there’s nothing new to be done with the material. You’d be wrong.

Tale Blazers Theatre Company’s Rosaline and Juliet takes place between scenes audiences will be familiar with, focusing on conversations between the two cousins as they navigate the courtship scene, deal with irritating family members and try to find solutions to the many problems that fate – or more realistically Juliet’s questionable judgement calls – throw their way.

Lily Roberts’ Rosaline is brash and confident, quick to tell Juliet that’s she’s being stupid – why on earth would she marry “Romeo ‘the serial proposer’ Montague”, a “murdering two-timing mama’s boy,” who is not only a mortal enemy of their family but, more crucially, is a bit of a loser? Balanced out by the naive but sometimes sweet optimism of her cousin, the two manage to get across a surprising depth of emotion in the short comedy. Their final scenes, just before Juliet decides to take the Friar’s sleeping pills (a plan they both think is a bit far out there), are genuinely touching.

The show flits between excerpts from the play (with Juliet leaning into the flowery language while Rosaline favours a more direct style of speech: “he’s a twat”), Shakespearian-style language (most effectively used as Rosaline gives a stilted ‘birds and the bees’ speech to her cousin) and modern-day slang, considering what exactly it is about Paris that makes him so ick-inducing and throwing out accusations that “that’s not very girl’s girl of you”. All three forms of speech come across remarkably naturally, never going too far into pastiche or trying too hard to be relatable to a contemporary audience.

This natural flow is enhanced by the chemistry between Lawman and Roberts, who bounce off one another and are totally believable in their relationship. Both talented writers and performers, Lawman’s and Roberts’ theatre company is a formidable one. You wouldn’t guess that this was their first production, and it’s certain that future endeavours will be recognised by a far larger audience. Catch them while they’re starting out so you can say you were there from the beginning.

Written by: Lily Roberts and Lara Lawman
Produced by: Tale Blazers

Rosaline and Juliet plays at Lion and Unicorn Theatre for Camden Fringe until 1 August. Further information and tickets available here.