Show Blog

Welcome to our last behind-the-scenes look at Romeo and Juliet and Mercutio and His Brother Valentine (RJMV)! Don't miss the shows, running April 17-20 and 24-27 at the Rotunda Theatre!

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What’s your theatre background? – I started doing theatre when I was in grade 5. I auditioned for an elementary school production of Oklahoma!  – it was one of those fun things where everyone got cast – and it was really fun. From there, I went on to do a bunch of plays in middle school, and then a bunch more in high school. Coming to Queen’s, I joined Vagabond Theatre, which I have been a part of for three years. They do mostly Shakespeare shows so with Vagabond, specifically Shakespeare, I’ve done Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, and As You Like It. It was funny: Impromptu did Much Ado About Nothing in City Park the year after I was in Vagabond’s indoor production, which was very fun to see.

How and why did you get involved with Impromptu Productions? – My housemate Reese, who was in Vagabond with me, was in Impromptu’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, so I went to see him in it and it was great show. The following summer, I was in Kingston and I knew Impromptu was doing another outdoor show,  so I auditioned for that and got the role of Master Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

What has been the best part of RJMV so far? ­– I think the best part is probably the challenge it’s presented. I get to play the epitome of the stereotypical lead role, and coming into it I had a very naive, younger sense of what Romeo and Juliet was because I – and probably most people – have sort of known what it’s about since I was young. But reading it again, and coming at it from an actor’s perspective, I found Romeo to be far more complex than I initially thought him to be: he has a much bigger range of emotions and a bigger range of characteristics. I’ve found he embodies almost every human characteristic. He is villainous at points: he gets angry and tyrannous. But he’s also gentle at points, and loving and dreaming. So playing this character has been a huge challenge. Trying to mix the whole range together has definitely been interesting.

Do you want to share any particular moment on epiphany you’ve had while exploring the character of Romeo? Anything in terms of how he has developed throughout the play? – Yeah, a moment that sticks out for me is when Romeo is in Mantua. It’s Act V, scene one. He’s had a dream that Juliet has come to him and he’s dead and Juliet has kissed him and he’s come back to life, and it’s a beautiful dream, so he’s happy, and hopeful for the future. Then Balthazar shows up and gives him the news that Juliet is in Capulet’s tomb, implying that she’s dead. In this moment, I realise, Romeo is not just devastated that his wife has died – the weight of everything that he has been through comes crashing down on him in this one moment: there’s the weight of losing his wife; there’s the weight of exile; there’s the weight of his father’s conflict with the Capulets; there’s the weight of Mercutio’s death. Everything just piles on top of him and he goes to a dark, dark place - and that’s really interesting to play.

On a lighter note, what is the funniest thing that has happened in rehearsal? – I’m not sure which scene it’s in, but at one point Graham Banville, who plays Mercutio, straddles Radissen, who plays Benvolio. I’m not in the scene, so I’ve always watched it in rehearsal, and it’s hilarious.

If you could meet anyone, living or dead, factual or fictional, who would it be and why? – That’s tough. King Arthur would be cool - just dining with him and having a feast.

Are you a big Shakespeare fan? What’s your favourite play by Shakespeare? – My favourite Shakespeare play is Macbeth. I love Macbeth – I think it’s absolutely fantastic. The progression of the play is great. It’s kind of weird, but I like dark plays. I also love how the protagonist is the villain, so you get the whole villain’s story, which is cool.

What does your future hold? – I’m finishing up my undergraduate degree right now and moving back to Toronto once I’m done. I’m looking into some talent agencies – I’m hoping to find an agent for film and screen to continue my acting career. I’m also working on a low-key theatre production with a friend. It’s in the very early stages of development but we want to put together individual performances that we’re going to do over the summer. The idea is an audience member walks into a booth – it’s like a photo booth, it’s very small – and they sit across from a performer and get a private performance. In this performance, because it’s so close, so personal, I’ve found that you really get a relationship going with the other person and it affects you to a much greater extent than if you were sitting in an audience with 300 other people.

Why should people come and see RJMV? – People should come see the shows because they might have certain assumptions about Romeo and Juliet, like I did - you know, it’s your typical love story, it’s very flowery, and people, I think, tend to be sickened by that sometimes. But to me, Romeo and Juliet and Mercutio and His Brother Valentine bring a lot more than that to the table. Obviously, Shakespeare is Shakespeare, and Clayton has done a great job with Mercutio and His Brother Valentine. You don’t just get the love-y dove-y bits; you get real human relationship. There’s conflict of great magnitude, with the two households fighting each other. It’s not just about Romeo and Juliet. It’s about the entire city. It’s about revenge; it’s about love; it’s about deceit; it’s about the Fates. It’s about brothers and family. You get a lot of different themes mixing in one performance, and if you see both shows, you’ll get even more out of it. Every audience member will find something different that they can latch onto and connect with in their own personal lives.