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Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare - Sampson

- Ludlow Festival. Directed by Chris Hayes.

Tiny part - not much more than a walk-on - in Romeo and Juliet at Ludlow. I think I was cast more as a swordsman than for the acting, and Derek Ware did his usual superb job with the fight-direction, especially as he had to work with a particularly sullen and unimpressive bunch of young 'actors' playing Romeo's friends and adversaries. Our Mercutio, in particular, exhibited an ego and bad attitude that was matched only by the lack of any discernable talent for acting (or indeed anything much except whining and stirring trouble). I particularly admired his incisive critique of the play when asked to perform some simple rapier moves by Derek - "The fuckin' play's not about fuckin' fightin'!". Well, actually, at the point in the story we were at the time, it is. Given the fact that Mercutio (as his name suggests) is intended by the writer to be dynamic, athletic, brilliant, witty and charismatic it was a pity that our director had cast a pudgy, shambling, brutish individual who could barely speak coherent English of the ordinary variety, let alone Shakepeare's verse.

Romeo and Juliet themselves were, thankfully, played by excellent young actors and the older cast was eclectic, experienced and, for the most part, top-notch. Mandy Rice-Davis was a particular revelation as Lady Capulet...but then 'I would say that, wouldn't I'!

Ludlow was a beautiful place to work (I recommend the 'Blue Boar' inn) and, although the size of the part was frustrating, it wasn't a wholly miserable experience.