The “unprecedented” excitement among fans at the London theater in which Spider-Man Star Tom Holland is appearing in Romeo and Juliet hasn’t quite been equalled by the reactions from reviewers inside the theatre.
The most favourable review – an article with five stars from the Telegraph the Telegraph, said Holland “ravishes” and “mesmerises” as Romeo.
However, at the other end of the spectrum, that Daily Express’s 1-star review said it was “absolute drivel” and described Holland as “a charisma free zone”.
Time Out stated that that the performer “certainly doesn’t disgrace himself” and the Guardian stated that the performance was “a good performance”.
Other critics also struggled be fit and described Holland’s Romeo as “fine”, “perfectly OK” and “perfectly plausible”.
They were, overall more enthused by Francesca Amewudah-Rivers’s performance as Juliet and was called as by TimeOut’s Andrzej Lukowski, as “great”.
“She has a lightness that contrasts with Holland’s dour angst,” the writer wrote.
Time Out gave the play four stars and said Jamie Lloyd’s minimal production is “brilliantly unsettling” and is “staged like a particularly stylish radio play”.
The Times was less than thrilled with what it claimed was “a conscientious but colourless radio drama”.
The film was awarded three stars by the critic Clive Davis said Holland was “quiet, fresh-faced and sensitive”.
“In the opening scenes he really does convince you that he is an adolescent adrift, waiting to abandon himself to a doomed romance,” the author wrote.
However, in the end Lloyd’s show “at times felt too formulaic” and made viewers “more perplexed than gripped” He said.
In the Guardian’s Arifa Akbar also rated three stars, and said that the lead actors were “perfectly cast, wired with an awkwardly cool teen energy, she a mix of innocence and streetwise steel, he jittering with sweaty-palmed earnestness”.
“The chemistry is most definitely there, even if it feels deliberately restrained in Jamie Lloyd’s turbo-stylised production,” she wrote.
There’s “much to admire” – however the author concluded “the deliberate underplaying of emotion ultimately leeches the play of its tragedy”.
the Variety’s David Benedict was not particularly keen on a show which he said was “fiercely stripped-down”, in which “the exuberance of love and youth is entirely missing”.
The characters and the drama are held back by a slow pace and breaks that interrupt the flow and underlying meaning of the story, Benedict said. “The one exception Juliet. Juliet…
“But Holland lacks her still stage presence. He’s perfectly plausible as lovestruck Romeo growing increasingly stressed and distressed, but he emotes rather than elicits emotions.”
In another report, the Independent’s Tim Bano added more detail and stated that the Holland performance “falls flat”.
“On comes Holland, a camera following him from backstage. He’s tearful, morose, muttering. He’s a very sad boy in a tight white vest,” Bano wrote.
The footage shot by cameras on stage that are projected on a large screen is now a staple of Lloyd’s productions as has the style that Bano called “industrial chic”.
“Or it was chic the first time Lloyd did it, but now it just looks like a fetish for ventilation ducts.”
He also said: “If it had ended with a break it would have been fantastic. But instead, it’s something with declining results…
“As for the ending, well, it’s a bit of a letdown. They die, but theatrically: earpieces out, eyes closed, sitting on the front of the stage like bouncers having a nap after a long shift at a warehouse rave.”
The BBC’s Hugh Montgomery said the show is “the status of a global event”.
He remarked on his observations of the “unprecedented scenes outside the Duke of York’s Theatre, where hundreds of fans teem behind railings, waiting for a glimpse of Holland as he travels from stage door to his car, waving like royalty”.
“If only the show itself was able to match this energy,” continued the host with two stars.
“Unfortunately the film is a sombre, lifeless film which can be simultaneously overstated and weak.
“This must be noted it is not the blame of the actors – nor Holland who is wonderful or Francesca Amewudah-Rivers in the role of Juliet which is more than good, nor is it the fault of the cast supporting them.
“The problem lies firmly with the gimmicky, oppressively dour staging, which consistently works against all of them.”
Deadline’s Baz Bamigboye has also spoken of his “memorable” crowds outside to get a glimpse of Holland and his girlfriend Zendaya.
He was uninterested in the production, as was the British actor whom he described as “a perfectly OK Jack-the-lad Romeo”. However, a 13-year-old daughter of a friend “adored all of it”.
“The thing is, this is the kind of production that will bring in a young audience. A new audience,” said the director.
“They do not want to watch boring traditional shows that are a part of the Bard. Theatre requires young audience members to be thrilled now and they will keep coming back.
“They want the shiny, bright rawness that Lloyd offers.”
The star power of The London show will soon be matched by a different production on Broadway that will feature the Heartstopper’s Kit Connor with West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler, which will begin in September.
The New York show – with music produced by the producer of Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff – released its trailer on Thursday.
