Romeo & Juliet

Indifferently Reformed—John Hirsch Mainstage

Shakespeare was never my thing in high school. Tried as I could, I could never understand the meanings behind Shakespearean English—I can decipher metaphors just fine but it’s hard to do that when you physically don’t know what they’re saying. In the modern era with the ease of adaption and access, I’ve been able to enjoy Shakespeare’s work in modern English and experience the works for the first time.

That’s why I hoped out of this performance but since they used Shakespearean English, most of it went over my head. Plus, the troupe conform the length of the play to fit the 75-minute time limit. Instead of paring in some areas, they sped up the pace of speech. I already had trouble interpreting what they said—add fast-speech to it and much of it felt like a foreign language to me.

The acting looked genuine and heart-felt. They put a lot of emotion into the performance but for me, I could only enjoy it so much without the basic understanding of the language. If you can enjoy Shakespeare in the Bard’s tongue, this is for you. If you need someone to translate for you, this might not be up your alley.

Ray Yuen