JADAR

★★★★☆

Backyard Cinema is a cutting edge event production company that expertly combines the world of film and live performance, dazzling audience members across England. One of their most popular productions is the 1996 cult classic Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, directed by Baz Luhrmann. From the second you walk into the transformed space, you are fully immersed in flickering candlelight, making this a night to remember.

The design cannot be lost on anyone. It was symbolic, stunning and stylised to perfectly capture the romantic intensity needed, drawing on the film’s heavily religious symbolism, the full choir reflected this through their vocal perfection and church attire. I wanted to see more consideration to the ’90s hip-hop elements and its juxtaposition to iconic Christian symbolism in the physical design but am aware this may be reserved for more theatrical events. 

The night began with Matt Robair, who acted as this production’s narrator, entering the hall and quickly summarising portions of the show. These moments, though immersive, felt almost disjointed to the film. Working with material that is already complete makes adding additional content difficult. I found the additional elements added in narration unnecessary as they were repeated several times by both the cast and the film. However, Matt Robair was an excellent host for the evening, stern, sometimes silly and overtly powerful. 

There is not much to be said on the film itself, disconnected from the portions of performance. This retelling of the classic story is worth the watch and praise it receives, so overall, the mission of Backyard Cinema to bring this story to local theatres was successful. 

I felt there was a disconnect in the graphics on the screen and the performances of both the live choir and distinct style of the film. The film is rich in color, vibrant and contemporary, clearly reflecting the ‘MTV generation,’ while the live graphics made to accompany the choir felt impersonal and disconnected. There were edits of the movie playing, flashes of colorful hearts on a dark background and simple water textures. I wanted to see the world of the live graphics reflect the world created in Albert Hall, but often found the graphics to take away from the show rather than add to it. It also seemed like quick graphics, made and developed without emotional thought behind them. 

I also felt the technical aspects were lacking. There was one distinct moment when the hall filled with blue lighting to accompany the famous balcony scene (set in Juliet’s pool) that made my heart swell. However, there was then a distinct lack of lighting used effectively for the rest of the film portion. This lack of follow through made the world seem disjointed. In addition to that, there seemed to be an issue with the lighting system, often leaving main characters unlit during songs and monologues. I do not know if this final issue is to do with the film mixing itself or from the venue, but the film was often both too loud and too quiet at parts, making a large portion of dialogue difficult to understand. 

This all being said, I believe the utter spectacle and creativity of the event made it worthwhile and, honestly, just fun. Audiences were invited to stand up, sing, and dance during the first half, really loosening up the space. I felt like this energy of connection was then lost during the second half; after watching a tragic double suicide, it is difficult to maintain energy. An event like this may be interesting to attend with a different film, one that maintains its energy throughout. By the end of this film, I don’t think our connection to the choir was able to sustain the heavy onslaught of emotions in the second half. However, there was a rich energy present I do not often see in audiences. 

The live choir and band was the shining jewel of this piece. The talent cannot be overstated, I was blown away by the dedication and talents of the entire team. I was utterly blown away by the musical talents of the cast. The band featured Fiona Asbury, John Bailey, Colin Oldfield and Matt Owens, and they were almost flawless in their delivery. The music directors, Laura Howe and Curtis Stansfield, created an excellent performance. I also need to applaud the choir leader David Bologun, who did an excellent job leading the event. 

Overall, from a theatrical perspective, there were moments that affected the show negatively in terms of sound, lighting and design. However, if you are a fan of the film and enjoy theatre, this is certainly an event to go to. I have full faith in saying you will have fun with Backyard Cinema. The live performance team were spectacular, delivering top of the line performances it is rare to see.

Backyard Cinema’s Romeo + Juliet runs at Albert Hall until September 7 – the last stop of its UK tour.