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Synetic Theater may have a new trademark on its hands.
Ever since its premiere of Hamlet…the rest is silence, the company has been excelling in a new brand of Shakespearean performance: the silent type. And while their Macbeth was no slouch, the company has another winner in its new production of Romeo and Juliet that may, in fact, trump it.
The set is dominated by large, metallic gears and a large, swinging pendulum, demonstrating that this take's emphasis will be on how the inner workings of fate will be stacked against our young couple (in typical Synetic fashion, dancers also become moving gears themselves at some points). It isn't the only theme emphasized by this production -- a pulsating, behind-the-screen scene of the couple's lovemaking gives the story an erotic charge, and other moments add a playful, humorous element to the workings as well.
Irina Tsikurishvili's choreography for this work is some of the most inventive we've seen from the company to date. This Romeo and Juliet relies less on gothic imagery and tense gyrations that former shows have done. Instead, we have scenes like an innovative bout between Mercutio (Philip Fletcher) and Juliet's nurse (the spry Marissa Molnar) -- through the medium of dance, we have slapstick fighting and flirtation, tumbling and taunting, as the nurse attempts to deliver a message from Juliet to Romeo. Molar's one of the productions most gifted dancers, and this scene allows her to almost get away with stealing the show from the more principal players.
The stars, though, put up quite a fight themselves. Our central couple, played by Ben Cunis and Courtney Pauroso, not only make a devastatingly handsome couple, but one whose against-all-odds passion for each other is thoroughly convincing. Fletcher brings a bouncy, clown-like wit to Romeo's dearest friend, making his death all the more wrenching and demanding of vengeance.
The work drags a little by the end, but we're talking Shakespeare here, a man not exactly known for his concise death scenes. Overall, this Synetic show convinces us that not only is there still much left to talk about when it comes to such an iconic work, but in their case, that they have more than a little to show, not merely tell, us.
Romeo and Juliet runs through March 8 at the Rosslyn Spectrum. Tickets are available online.
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