The music in ‘Romeo in the city’ was used very wisely. Most of the time it was used in moments when there were no dialogs, when the actors were miming. They used a lovely soundtrack in moments when Omar was trying to become Kiran’s friend. When the suspense was involved they used a scarier soundtrack. Overall I think the music was used appropriately.
In the play there were 5 actors. But very interestingly there were 6 roles. One of the actors played 2 roles. I think that the director double cast him for two reasons; the one of his parts is not that big some might say it is the smallest part, but because he is a very good actor the director gave him the part of Omar’s uncle as well. His body language was unbelievable. When playing the old man the audience could easily believe that he is an old man in pain. This was because his body language was extremely well put into practise. E.g. He was crouched down, he was kind off limping. When playing Omar’s friend he was very convincing of being a ‘chav’, again, his body language clearly showed that he is a young fit boy. In my opinion all the characters were believable because they were really concentrating. They obviously have had a lot of practise.
What really surprised me was that even though at some points they were meant to be off stage and they were actually sitting on the two boxes at either corner of the triangular set, they were sitting as the character they were playing, even though the audience was watching the scene that was happening in the middle, not for a second these young actors lost a sense of character.
In this performance the audience was given the chance of hearing different accents. Most of the times the actors were really clear and loud at some points, as a minus, it was very hard to understand what was said. In order to improve this I think that the actors should practise their vocals at home in front of someone and this person should honestly say which bits are hard to understand. As well as that they should record themselves and listen to the tape, this way they could hear for themselves whether there are some parts that are unclear.
The most memorable moment in “Romeo in the City” for me was the moment Omar was killed. I truly loved the whole fight starting off quite fast paced, then slowing down in slow-motion and ending with the extremely well facial expressions which showed shock and panic in the other characters. I think that in society this shows that sometimes when something unexpected happens the person that is involved sees the event happen slowly.
The pace of this play was very interesting. I loved the contrast of it. At some points it was very fast paced and up beat, but others it was very slow, calm. I think that the director intended to show some scenes in slow motion because she wanted that these moments were understood, in other words she wanted to mark the moment. However, the director wanted some scenes to be played very fast because she wanted the audience to perhaps remember these scenes as being in panic or anger. In my opinion the effect of both types of scenes was very good. My favourite example of the play would be the death of Omar. If the whole scene was quick then some of the audience would not understand it. But because it was slowed down people easily understood what’s happening.
What surprised me was the fact that they rushed the end of it. After Omar dies it is not very clear what happens to the characters. Maybe this was intended to make the audience think and ask questions, however I think that this might be the lack of time. In order to improve the end I would recommend Kiran to do a thought track, telling people how she got on with her life after the death of Omar.
Overall I really enjoyed watching all the drama techniques we were learning in year 10 and 11 put into practise by good young actors. In my opinion this play shows that in society there will always be racists and sometimes people from a similar race will turn against you. It also shows that if you are truly in love you will fight for the right to be with your loved one even with your own flesh and blood.
Kate Riekstina.