Choreography: The Use of Diagonals and Corners
The use of corners was extraordinary and so brilliant. I noticed that there was never moment in which two performers would stand side by side with each other unless they were in constant movement throughout the course of their dialogue. Performers were always placed at an angle of each other and left the scene using the corners of the stage. I loved how the timeless balcony scene became Juliet simply sitting on a row of chairs at no high elevation whatsoever while Romeo looked “up” at her from the opposite corner of the stage. There was no need for grand props or special effects, rather the mere wit of a choreographer was enough to bring a balcony scene to life with a few chairs and a square shaped stage.
The use of diagonals- especially during the costume party at the Capulet’s and during the fight that ends with Mercutio’s death was so clever. The costume party scene used the diagonal to it maximum potential: changing the direction of the diagonal, freezing some characters while allowing others to talk, placing Capulets, Montagues, and the Prince all back to back, — all of these techniques truly did justice to this scene. It was easy to focus on the character that would be talking and made it so that the audience could see everyone in full action. The choreographer of this particular interpretation of Romeo and Juliet made sure to tell the audience right at the beginning how performers would be stationed and used around the stage. He/She immediately shows us the differences between characters that are in the scene, or are watching a scene unfold, or are about to enter in on the scene quite soon. Act I begins with all of its characters facing backwards in a horizontal line and only the characters in Scene 1 actually in the lighted up section of the stage.
