Just as poor parenting propelled Romeo and Juliet towards their deaths, so too is dodgy directing at the Globe in danger of killing Shakespeare’s tragedy. Dominic Dromgoole is more indulgent uncle than responsible parent; happy to help when times are good, but conspicuously absent when things turn ugly. So though he lavishes attention on an impressively funny first half – all quick fire banter and bawdy comedy – the messier second half sulks and sags with neglect.

Is the best the Globe can do – simply stretch out the text, mine it for jokes and to hell with the consequences? All of Shakespeare’s tragedies are cloaked in comedy, but the jokes are surely not an end in themselves. The laughs are there to open the audience up, break down their guard so the drama can pierce them in the heart when they least expect it. The jokes should strengthen the tragedy, not weaken it. Dromgoole loses sight of this and, ever the avuncular figure, allows his admittedly talented comic actors to run riot.

The tragedy’s most memorable performance comes from Fergal McElherron, ostensibly playing an array of bit-parts, but in reality the play’s court jester. He bounces around the stage like a dog let outdoors in desperate need of a piss, leaping on every sexual innuendo like a bitch on heat. It is a lively display and the ever-enthusiastic Globe crowd lapped it up. But as long as the audience is watching this dog chase its tail for treats, the tragedy doesn’t stand a chance.

Those actors looking for more than cheap laughs rise above the overall production. Penny Laden and Philip Cumbus as the Nurse and Mercutio show us both sides of Shakespeare’s coin – how it glisters when handled right! Cumbus is the funniest and weightiest presence on-stage, holding the comedy and tragedy close to his chest, in one messy but real combination. And whilst Penny Laden is more subdued than previous bombastic interpretations, she is a lot funnier for it. This restraint allows her real emotional gravitas later on and it is her reaction to Juliet’s death - the sudden silencing of this warbling but loving lady - that brings the scene to life.

Lumbered with the straight roles in this comic turn, Romeo (Adetomiwa Edun) and Juliet (Ellie Kendrick) fall a little flat. With the show’s energy invested elsewhere and the dialogue moving at an almighty gallop, many of the infamous scenes slip by unnoticed. Whilst it is a pleasure to watch their energetic young love flare into life the sparks of passion are never really lit. They are just too young to support the play and too inexperienced to pull in the sprawling, restless Globe audience. As a result we hover somewhere above the tragedy – willing these star-crossed lovers to survive, yet strangely unaffected by their death.

With a bare stage and traditional dress it seems that Dromgoole was aiming for a classic Shakespearean production here. So just how did he let go of its heart? The final betrayal comes with the curtain call when, just moments after their double suicide, Romeo and Juliet spring from their death bed and join the merry, dancing throng on-stage. Just as we might have lingered on those wasted lives, uncle Dominic arrives to lend a helping hand, drowning out our sighs and the play’s sorrows with his stamping, beaming chorus. 

Till 23 August 2009