Tension despite a reduced cast Much interest in the english play ?Romeo & Juliet?: the three actors of the ?ThŸotre en anglais? convinced with their bold performance The heart of director Dr. Hobl-Friedrich must have beaten excitedly: three full houses within a single week with performances for young people. In the performance of Romeo & Juliet by the ?ThŸotre en anglais? , the stalls were filled so that dozens of youths had to go into the rangs. They saw a French production in the English language. The three actors under the direction of Daniel Soulier held an intense tension for two hours (without a break), although a drastic reduction in the cast robbed Shakespeareœµ play of much of its depth. For instance, the quarrel between the houses of Montague and Capulet was missing completely, as was the subculture of the young men (Mercutio for the Montagues and Tybalt for the Capulets) who with their talk and macho-games would like to reduce love to sex. This is why in the beginning, the ?mise-en-scene? threatened to sit on a farcical track, which was helped by the speedy changes of Carlton Bunce as Father Lawrence and as Julietœµ nurse. But it was through this very actor, that the audience was led in another direction. In the scene in which he as Father Lawrence gave Juliet the fake poison working as a sleeping cocktail, he showed with his silent play his doubts about this ? as we all know ? fatal plan. From this moment on, the events became more dense and the tragicomedy was not perceived as simply funny. The set ? a small rake and a little curtain ? proved genially simple. In the best sense of Shakespeare ?spoken set?, it worked as dancehall, balcony, bed and tomb. Play and text built the stage. Even if not every word was understood: the bold and simple performance helped the understanding, and a little knowledge about the action helped, too. Only if someone had neither much knowledge of English or of the piece, it might have proven difficult. The concentrated silence in the audience indicated the opposite. Maybe Jessica Boyde gave her Juliet a little too much chagrin dœrmour und world weariness. Straight from the beginning she gave her posture and her speech a tragic bottomline, which for a 14 year old girl just fallen in love, is but one facet of her thinking and acting. Vincent Londez stayed pale, which was mainly due to the construction of only 3 actors. He didn? have his male counterparts Mercutio, Tybalt and Paris. It is unlikely that someone grasped the reason for his ban without knowing the story. Only the nurse related the information briefly in the performance. Result: The English original went down well. This was due to the bold simplicity of the acting, to the genial set and to Carlton Bunce who must possess an infinite stock of playful changes. The next English piece of the group ?le ThŸotre en anglais? One flew over the Cuckooœµ nest will happen on the 21-2-.19.30 in the theatre Itzehoe. Peter A. Kaminsky Shakespeare-Classic still up to date Performance ?Romeo & Juliet? on the highest level They announced the love-tragedy ?Romeo & Juliet? from Verona as ?hot love-oaths by cool Brits?, but it was much more than that. This classic, staged first 1592/93 in London has lost nothing of its actual value. It is thanks to Carlton Bunce, that this love-drama was shown at the Soldatenheim. The Welsh actor, writer, director and set-designer unforgettably directed ?The Blind Chameleon? last year in the Schlei-Town. Through his friendly contacts with the teacher-couple Anne and Peter Reimerdes it was made possible that this internationally cast show was staged in Kappeln. In a tightened version, directed by the French Daniel Soulier , with a spartan set on a rake by Jacques Voizot and with simple, precious costumes by Camilla Barnes, ?Le ThŸotre en anglais? presented a three-hander, who fascinated from the prologue to the tragic ending. The leads are the young English actress Jessica Boyde (Juliet) and the French Vincent Londez (Romeo). As a genial quick-change artist Carlton Bunce impresses as Friar Lawrence, Julietœµ Nurse, Apothecary and Julietœµ father. Even without the opulent court of the Capulets and Montagues, the action is directed in an incredibly exciting way. Carried by the extraordinary intensity of their acting, tall Romeo and lovely Juliet spread the hot breath of true love-passion blowing through the poetry, and through his genial art of language the poet makes the souls of the young lovers bloom. As Friar Lawrence, Julietœµ Nurse, Apothecary and Father Capulet, Carlton Bunce plays the whole range of his acting art, and despite all the tragic, thereœµ much humour in it until the tragic ending. One last embrace after the great error, then it expires ? the great starry hour of the acting art which had shone over Kappeln.