West Side Story @ The King's Theatre, Glasgow
West Side Story is often revered as the grand modern translation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, one of the masterpiece musicals of the 20th century. At first glance this is a very seductive adaptation, as it considers modern-day issues like racism, poverty, gang violence, and police corruption.
Katie Hall as Maria showcases an extraordinary voice as does Louis Maskell in his role as Tony. However, both the main stars and the rest of the cast appear to be struggling with the various accents, such that their speech becomes unintelligible at times. On the other hand, they seem to have invested most of their energy in the dancing, which is technically intricate, and extremely intense, even for a young, energetic cast.
However, as a story, the musical's plot is not particularly well-formed. Certain moments very clearly don't have 20th and 21st century counterparts. For example, the Jets raping Anita. While this moves the plot forward and is potentially a realistic reflection of the time when it was written, it seems to trivialise the act of rape, since the ‘boys’ only receive a reprimand for it – and yet, it is crucial for Anita to despise them. Nonetheless, it is never resolved, but rather brushed off to the side, which appears very counterintuitive in the context of today's consent discourse.
As a result, while this adheres as closely as possible to the original version of West Side Story, it doesn’t seem the most relevant or appropriate version.
Ultimately, any company performing West Side Story is bound to face the same problems Shakespearean companies do. Many people who turn up already know the plot, or are aware of similar material. The work itself is more well-known than the company, while also fixed in form and story. Thus, making it interesting and innovative and not just a show that goes through the motions is extremely challenging. [Eric Karoulla]