Romeo and Juliet at Hackney Empire

A musical adaptation of the classic tale of star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet fuses Shakespeare’s original text with contemporary rap, soul and R&B. While this concept occasionally struggles to convince, overall it still fascinates by recontextualising some of the play’s conceits.

The production is reimagined as a conflict between two political parties, with screens displaying recordings of Nigel Farage over Montague (Ellena Vincent) and Priti Patel over Capulet (Asheq Akhtar). This fails to convince since the text is deliberately vague about any concrete specifications, unlike contemporary political divisions, but thankfully, these comparisons are kept to a minimum, leaving the onlookers otherwise in peace.

Aside from that, it’s a perfectly competent rendition of the play, with Kyle Ndukuba as Romeo and Mia Khan as Juliet. They bring plenty of energy to their performances and bristle with chemistry, although for some reason they are directed to rush their lines as though there were no tomorrow. But overall, they deliver solid performances, as does the supporting cast; Natasha Lewis’s Nurse and Andre Antonio’s Benvolio, in particular, bring pizazz to the mix with well-delivered lines and a solid sense of humour.

The musical numbers are all excellently well performed and accompanied by a choir that stands above the main stage area, and in many cases they add perfectly to the atmosphere of unease, such as the rap song when Romeo buys the poison to commit suicide and the thuggish sellers ask him repeatedly, “Are you sure you want to die?”

At other times, however, the songs are forced and tagged on, which in the worst cases leads to a distraction from Shakespeare’s brilliant setups. Contender for the worst offender is during the balcony scene, in which Romeo interrupts his lines to sing loudly over Juliet instead. It’s often jarring and irritating, rather than an organic part of the whole.

Thankfully, after the interval, things improve greatly. Weaker musical numbers occur less frequently, and the performance generally settles into itself, leading to a strong conclusion that satisfies the audience. All this renders this adaptation a mixed blessing: if it simply cut out some of the numbers and the unnecessary political comparisons, it would be an outstanding production. As it is, it’s still perfectly entertaining while bringing music not commonly associated with Shakespeare to the fold – certainly worth a look.

Michael Higgs
Photos: Nicola Young

Romeo and Juliet is at Hackney Empire from 24^th until 26^th April 2025. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for Romeo and Juliet at Hackney Empire here: