Romeo & Juliet: A Love Song – Shakespeare's timeless tale of
star-crossed lovers retold in this contemporary New Zealand rock opera
musical.
Every generation reinvents Romeo and Juliet in a way that strikes a chord
with its peculiar sensibilities, experiences and outlook. This, then, is Romeo
and Juliet for the YouTube generation, a film that plays off the wide-ranging
tastes of youth accustomed to taking the glamorous with the grimy, the comic
with the tragic, the beautiful with the freakish and the venal with the
elevated.
Romeo & Juliet: A Love Song Reviews
“Rock operetta meets the trailer park in this latest ambitious, light
and fun re-telling of the tale of Juliet and her Romeo. Set in Verona caravan
park, it's the story of Romeo and erm, Juliet and their star crossed love, a
story told a million times before and which has been given a spit and polish for
this Kiwi version. The music came first this time around as composers/producers
Michael O’Neill and Peter van der Fluit set Shakespeare’s text to music,
mixing in styles such as rap, ballad and rock. Constantly surprising, director
Tim van Dammen's clearly drawn heavily from his music video directing
background and the whole piece comes together with such toe-tapping gusto that
it's impossible to deny. With the talent miming to other voices, the occasional
misfire with the voice matching/ miming drips through, but all in all, it's an
extremely enjoyable affair…Ambitious and exciting, this Romeo and Juliet is
something uniquely different; constantly surprising and always inventive, the
operetta has an energy which is hard to ignore. A caravan roof doubles for a
balcony and a wood just outside of the camping ground provides some truly
memorable scenery as the declarations of love are unveiled. Shakespeare's text
may have been remade repeatedly – but this Kiwi view of it shows off a clever
twist on the stuffy text – it's a music video rock operetta with a high dose
of energy and directing gusto.” Darren Bevan, tvnz.co.nz
“Purists might complain that the light-hearted treatment trashes the
text but for the most part it’s fun and proves that Shakespeare’s story
really is timeless.” Flicks.co.nz
“It's unsettling at first, as is the trashy Kiwi caravan park setting,
but quickly you're dragged into this highly original take on the bard's classic
tale, with Shakespeare's more-than 400-year-old words delivered in songs with
styles ranging from rock and pop to hip-hop, gospel and sweet ballads.
There's energy and a sense of humour to this adaptation..The caravan park is an
unusual and clever setting, we can giggle at the overflowing ashtrays, caravan
interiors and copious crates of beer, but it's an ideal location for teenage
romance, warring families, sudden bursts of violence and odd characters doing
odd things.” nzherald.co.nz