I’d like to begin this review with a confession, and for a student who studies English at Cambridge, it’s a confession with a capital C. I have never, cover to cover, read Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. I know the plot of course, and what Sparknotes has to say about various different aspects of it. I’ve also seen the films – as a very mildly bi-curious 16-year-old the promise of a five-second glimpse at DiCaprio’s buttocks proved too tempting to resist – and I’ve even read a couple of acts, but I never got all the way through.

When I heard that the Cambridge University Shakespeare Players (CUSP) were planning to do a production, then, I was naturally desperate to review it; a chance to finally read through the whole play, I thought, and then go see a top-class live showing of it swiftly after. But alas, though this CUSP performance contained plenty of flickers of great acting, it was far from a vintage night in the stands.

Although I enjoy a good open air production as much as the next man, the outdoor setting was problematic. Queens’ College gardens run parallel to two of the busiest streets in Cambridge and so naturally, important speeches were frequently lost to the frantic blaring of motor-horns, chittering from adjacent quads and, in one particularly unfortunate intrusion, the rattling clangs of a member of catering staff who took it upon himself to drive across the court with an iron trolley during a pivotal moment in the play. Note to CUSP: outdoor productions at Queens’ need to be outlawed – the acoustics just aren’t up to it.

“Shakespeare would be writhing in his grave, shrieking whatever the Elizabethan equivalent is to ‘learn your bloody lines!’”

Further, there were some issues with line-fluffing. Many of Shakespeare’s speeches are borderline impossible to wrap your head, let alone your tongue, around, and with all the various aural distractions listed above, the cast were always going to find this a bit of a struggle. But even allowing for these extra difficulties, the amount of conspicuous bungling in this production was borderline absurd. Every act had an awkward silence, a jarring repetition or a blushing plea to the prompter.

The audience were sympathetic, and to pay the cast their dues, many of the actors did a good job of wringing some laughs from their mistakes and so recovered rather well. But ultimately, Shakespeare would be writhing in his grave, shrieking whatever the Elizabethan equivalent is to ‘learn your bloody lines!’

However, with the exception of the aforementioned noise issues, the decision to set the play against the backdrop of a Hellenic college court was a good one. The rose-dotted Grecian pillars that sat behind the immediate stage both lent the drama grandeur and helped bolster the romantic themes beautifully.

“Georgia Taylor is particularly impressive as Juliet”

Likewise, when not muddling their lines, many of the cast registered really quite powerful performances. Georgina Taylor is particularly impressive as Juliet. Strutting around in mud-splattered camouflage trousers and the black leather jacket of a Hell’s Angels biker, she brought a spunk to the role which has often been lacking in modern productions.

Anastasia Bruce-Jones as a memorably feminised Romeo also gave a good performance. Her portrayal of the star-crossed lover had something of the lazily philosophising Prince Hamlet about her. Perpetually turning a cigarette between her fingers, she produced a more melancholy Romeo than I suspect much of the audience were used to, but one that worked well within the CUSP’s performance.

Finally, the show also benefited from a number of standout performances among the more minor characters. Henry Eaton-Mercer was consistently strong as the Friar, and Myles O’Gorman’s performance as Lord Capulet was inspired – his every gesture produced a giggle.

Love’s Labour’s Lost goes back to school

All in all, then, the archetypal mixed review for this play. Plenty of great individual performances but the overall production was, unfortunately, marred heavily by a few too many line flubs and the risk of outdoor staging