Romeo and Julie

A different pair of star crossed lovers, Julie (Rosie Sheehy) has a bright future in astrophysics in front of her while Romeo (Callum Scott Howells)* is a single dad who hasn't ever really looked up at the stars before. I got a last minute ticket for this with what was supposed to be a restricted view, but in fact turned out to be a great seat.  

A fairly slight  but very sweet rom-com-ish story in the first half with some nicely turned dialogue, it had a slightly distracting variety of accents for a tiny corner of Wales.  The second half though ramps up the kitchen sink drama, with complicated dilemmas to resolve alongside the romance with themes around disadvantage and disparity in life chances and education; there was a great and passionate speech about the value of care work, which was a bit shoehorned in but still worth listening to.  Not perfect, but this was a play that crept up from behind and kneecapped me.  

Deftly written, beautifully acted by the small cast and with great chemistry between the leads.  In the end this was really moving and I left the auditorium with a bit of a lump in my throat.  

*I knew I recognised Callum Scott Howells and reading the programme, he played Colin in It’s a Sin.  That explains why the people next to me were saying ‘that’s Colin’