Following Gnomeo being blamed for the smashing of Tybalt (an accident which is of course resolved during the credits of the film, though here was left unresolved), Gnomeo is banished from the garden, only to return to claim Juliet just before the two are apparently killed by the rogue Terrafirminator lawnmower (Anna Bigham, who understood the assignment), prompting the reconciliation of their feuding parents (Nora Frankovich and Kyle Showalter) before Gnomeo and Juliet’s survival is revealed. During the escalating rivalry between the rival Reds and Blues, who live in adjacent gardens in Stratford-upon-Avon, Gnomeo (a Blue) meet s Juliet (a Red). The plot of Gnomeo and Juliet is, of course, reasonably faithful to the Shakespeare play to which it is indebted. Fueled by end-of-term spirits, perfectly legal beverages, and a healthy dose of incredulity at the plot (especially from those who had no reference point for the film, a state of affairs for which participants now have no excuse), this staged reading of Gnomeo and Juliet – as with Gnomeo’s (Austen Bell) own advice to the over-protected Juliet (Katy Shinas) – threw caution to the wind, refused to accept fragility, and decided not to worry about chipping any pottery. The first outing of the MBU Shakespeare & Performance community’s no-Renaissance staged readings – “no director, no rehearsal, no idea what we’re doing” – served as a trial run for what will hopefully be the 2024 MFA company’s education show, a no-holds-barred, riotous, script-in-hand performance of the classic film comedy Gnomeo and Juliet. Tears (of joy or sorrow, who can say) streaming down her face, audience member Jordan Willis turned to me and declared that this was, unironically, the finest theatre she had ever seen.

Juliet by Anna Kirwan