In fact for the first act she might as well be asking "what for art thou?" as anyone beyond the first couple of rows must have been straining their ears to catch just what Jack Ryder's star-crossed lover was actually saying.

It's a shame because judging by the singularly inappropriate screams when he's parading in his jockey shorts or battling with leather-clad foes, there's a fair number of young EastEnders fans here to see his Jamie Mitchell character rather than the actor brave enough to break free from its restraints – and it would be better for them if he seemed to be more at ease doing that.

Director Michael Bogdanov sets his play in modern-day Italy bringing in chains and flick knives, syringes and an underused musical soundtrack – though stops well short of the energy of Baz Luhrmann's frenetic 1995 punk film version.

Ironically, it's older hands such as Christine Pritchard's Nurse, John Labanowski's bombastic Lord Capulet and Simon Armstrong's Friar Laurence who can cope with the concept.

At times though the desire for youth cred goes too far – the duel with Richard Munday's Tybalt dissolves into a strange farce and Juliet's deathbed scene disintegrates into melodrama or pastiche.

Thankfully there's always Sara Lloyd-Gregory whose heroine would have been too liberated and liberating for either this Romeo, or rival suitor Paris, to cope with in real life.

Romeo and Juliet runs until Saturday.


Robin Duke