{Review} A Night with Shakespeare in the Park | Romeo and Juliet

This Mother’s Day we decided to do something different … we had a rather unusual date night at the park, plus Shakespeare. Perhaps it was the thrill and exhilaration of doing something different, it felt fun, almost like a first date (haha)… Yup we were on our way to our very first Shakespeare in the Park at Fort Canning!

The hubs is not an outdoor person and we’ve largely never entertained the thought of Shakespeare in the Park for obvious reasons haha…. Singapore’s humid weather is not for the faint hearted.

On a rather unusual date with the hubs 🙂

As a Lit student back in my college days, I’d always wanted to catch a Shakespearean play. Back then, the arts scene was very different. There was markedly less support for the arts and probably less like-minded people committed to the arts. When I arrived at Fort Canning park on Sunday evening, I was really taken by surprise. A large crowd had already  gathered at the Gothic Gate way before 6.30pm! Wow!

Huge crowds gathering as early as 6pm, braving the humidity and heat for Shakespeare

It made me feel so proud to see Singapore out on a summer’s night coming for a night of Shakespeare 😉 Shakespeare indeed continues to hold his audience 400 years later!

The long queue to get inside was fast moving and picnic mats filled up the entire grounds quickly. We made our way further towards the right side of the stage seeing that most of the front was already filled. (It turns out that was a very good vantage point as most of the play actually took place on the right! So don’t be afraid to move on in and spread your mats without the squeeze!)

Once we got comfortable, we were ready for dinner before the show. The hubs prepared a really good Caesar’s salad, snacks and grapes while Shirley brought along sandwiches and drinks.  We were ready to kick off those shoes and experience our very first Shakespeare in the Park 🙂

Thankfully, it was cooler than imagined and everyone was all set for a fun relaxed night. The grounds was abuzz with friendly chatter, excited conversations and laughter. Friends catching up, couples hand in hand and families having a good time.

Perhaps the greatest love story ever told, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet needs no introduction. A classic tale of sweet forbidden love, the tragedy of a bitter family feud, SRT’s Romeo and Juliet opened to wild cheers from the audience as the skies darkened and the stars came out to play.

Set in a somewhat modern day city state, the simple stage was brilliantly done with different small sections separated by stairs and height levels plus a centre stage where Juliet’s bed and tomb eventually would be.

Cleverly designed multi-levelled, multi-sectioned stage

This made for easy change of scenes, zooming in for more intimate private moments (balcony scene) between the two lovebirds and zooming out for large scenes (fight scenes). I liked the clever crack running through across the entire stage, reminding the audience about the opposing feuding families we were about to meet.

Thomas Pang was delightful in his role as Romeo. Energetic, polished and spirited, this handsome Romeo would have caused younger hearts in the audience to fall helplessly in love with Romeo that night. 🙂

Thomas Pang and Cheryl Tan sharing a Romeo Juliet moment

Familiar face Cheryl Tan (who played Ivy Chan in Dick Lee’s Beauty World and Little Bo-Frilly in SRT’s Three Billy Goats Gruff) plays Juliet, with her usual vibrant and animated acting as in her previous roles. I would have appreciated a gentler more demure Juliet than the one at the park that night. But perhaps her characterisation was more in line with the modernity that the production was aiming for.

Juliet on her balcony thinking about her Romeo

Ramesh Panicker was every part the important Capulet patriarch, Juliet’s father, and played his role with presence and formality. One clearly got the sense that he was someone not to be trifled with.

Overall, the strong cast kept the entire audience riveted to the developments on stage which were fast paced and none too draggy.

Do also keep a look out for Edward Choy (Goh Keng Swee ~ The LKY Musical) who plays Paris the disappointed suitor, Shane Mardjuki (SRT’s Hello Goodbye) who plays Mercutio the impulsive friend of Romeo and Benjamin Chow (Lim Chin Siong ~ The LKY Musical/ The Troll in SRT’s The Three Billy Goats Gruff),  who plays Benvolio Montague.

Audiences will not have missed the dramatic accompanying music setting the mood of each scene so precisely. From the romantic scenes of the two young star-crossed lovers to the fight scenes as Tybalt challenges Romeo and then the sense of urgency and shock of Mercutio’s death, the music of Ruth Ling set the tone for the play to perfection. Special mention must also be made about the exquisite costumes designed by award winning Moe Kasim, which gave the play a distinctive modern yet Asian feel especially at the Capulet’s party.

Going to this play made me feel like a hopeful school girl again and brought back fond memories of those carefree college days. I had fun and am thankful for the special company I had that night – my beloved (who isn’t quite a Shakespearean fan)… but said he had a fun night too haha…

I am hopeful that we’ll be able to venture to more park productions if they come by again. However, it is highly likely that this Shakespeare in the Park- Romeo and Juliet would be the last park production for a while (unless a patron sponsor is found soon) so don’t miss out on this very special experience.

The run ends on May 22nd 2016, at Fort Canning, entrance by the Gothic Gate. Book your tickets at SISTIC, show details at end of post.

If you do go, be early as carpark is limited (nearest carpark – Carpark A, 50 spaces) but free at night 🙂 Otherwise, park at Park Mall and make a short walk across to Fort Canning Hill. Also everyone gets there early to get best seats as it’s free seating!

Thank you for joining us on SAys! Happy Mums.  If you liked what you read on our blog, please follow us on Facebook for the latest updates.  We hope to see you back again soon.

SAys! Audrey  

We are grateful for the opportunity to attend SRT’s Shakespeare in the Park ~ Romeo and Juliet, for the purposes of this review. We were not remunerated monetarily for the review, all opinions and experiences remain our own alone. All photos unless otherwise mentioned are copyright of SRT and were provided for the purposes of this review. All other photos remain the copyright property of SAys! Happy Mums and may not be reproduced without prior notice or written permission given.

About Shakespeare in the Park – Romeo and Juliet

Dates: Wed, 27 Apr – Sun, 22 May 2016 @ 7.30pm (Park opens at 6.30pm)

Venue: Fort Canning Park (Located at Gothic Gate at Carpark A)

Ticketing: SISTIC website or call 6348 5555

Ticket Pricing (Excludes Booking Fee)

Preview show (27 & 28 Apr 2016) & all Wednesday shows

Picnic:
Advanced Ticket – S$40 (Available until one day before performance)
Standard Ticket – S$50 (Event Day)

*Premium Picnic:
Advanced Ticket – S$58 (Available until one day before performance)
Standard Ticket – S$68 (Event Day)

Pavilion Package – S$85
(Includes a priority queue, a seat, 2 glasses of wine or soft drinks, canapes and souvenir programme.)

Thu, Fri and Sun shows except 1 May(PH)

Picnic:
Advanced Ticket – S$48 (Available until one day before performance)
Standard Ticket – S$58 (Event Day)

*Premium Picnic:
Advanced Ticket – S$68 (Available until one day before performance)
Standard Ticket – S$78 (Event Day)

Pavilion Package – S$98
(Includes priority queue, a seat, 2 glasses of wine or soft drinks, canapes and souvenir programme.)

Sat shows
1 May (Labour Day) and 21 May (Vesak Day)

Picnic:
Advanced Ticket – S$58 (Available until one day before performance)
Standard Ticket – S$68 (Event Day)

*Premium Picnic:
Advanced Ticket – S$78 (Available until one day before performance)
Standard Ticket – S$88 (Event Day)

Pavilion Package – S$108
(Includes priority queue, a seat, 2 glasses of wine or soft drinks, canapes and souvenir programme.)

 *Includes priority queue, a spot in the Reserved Picnic area near the stage and an inflatable backrest.