Still, while Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth have their virtues as the star-cross’d lovers of the tale, they don’t come close to achieving the incandescence of Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting in the emotionally, dramatically and above all musically superior Zeffirelli version. Time Out is a registered trademark of Time Out Digital Limited. Friendly warning! 2) This time it’s showing Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 classic Romeo + Juliet in a Grade I listed, Gothic Revival church, bookended by performances of the soundtrack by a live choir. Backyard Cinema’s Romeo + Juliet | Cinema In A Church. Tickets start from £20. Thanks for subscribing! The Some Voices choir will sing the live versions of songs from the soundtrack including Young Hearts, Everybody’s Free and Kissing You. In a church. ( Log Out /  Backyard now has a permanent home at the Mercato Metropolitano Italian food market in Borough. And the piece’s two pivotal supporting characters are done similar justice: Lesley Manville (another RSC alum) brings a real measure of gravity to the role of Juliet’s nurse, while Paul Giamatti (who starred in the Yale Rep’s production of “Hamlet” earlier this year) is near-perfect as the compassionate, world-weary priest who goes out on a limb again and again in support of true love. Ever popular Backyard Cinema have just released the final round of tickets for their August screening of Romeo and Juliet. Join them there for a 'Mission to Mars' themed series of screenings including 'Men In Black', 'E.T', 'Alien' and 'Interstellar'. We're working hard to be accurate. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. It was like stepping into another world – the world of the film – and there was something so special about getting to watch such an already unique and gorgeous film in such a unique and gorgeous setting. Nor, for that matter, are they likely to captivate teenage audiences as Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes did in Baz Luhrmann’s boldly contemporary 1996 update, whose passion and stylistic chutzpah can’t help but inspire renewed appreciation by comparison. Romeo and Juliet - Backyard Cinema. Since then Backyard has hosted zombie apocalypses, 'Romeo + Juliet' with a choir in a church, popped up on the cobbles in Camden Market and hosted outdoor film festivals. Still, what Steinfeld lacks in precise diction she makes up for in sweetness, gentility and an emotional openness that feels true to Juliet’s optimistic spirit. A few weeks ago for my friend’s birthday, I took her to the Backyard Cinema screening of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. The idea behind Backyard Cinema is to offer a more immersive cinema experience, and that was something we totally felt from the moment we stepped inside the beautiful London church. All rights reserved. 1) Backyard Cinema – which has on previous occasions hosted weekend-long, booze-soaked film festivals, and immersive horror movie screenings starring face-eating zombies – is back. “Wisely and slow. Tickets are £28, which includes a bag of popcorn (further drinks and snacks will be available from the bar), and can be purchased from the Time Out Shop at the above link. Opening Oct. 11 Stateside through Relativity Media, this first high-profile Hollywood stab at the material in nearly two decades could court an appreciative global audience on the basis of its solid international cast. NOTE: Backyard Cinema’s Romeo + Juliet screenings take place 12th-25th May 2020 at the Union Chapel in Islington. By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.”. By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies. Review of Union Chapel. But these are unusual times, so please check that events are still happening. Déjà vu! Romeo and Juliet is back and on sale now! Union Chapel: Romeo and Juliet - Backyard Cinema - See 283 traveler reviews, 191 candid photos, and great deals for London, UK, at Tripadvisor. The screening started and ended with a choir performing some of the film’s songs. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Friendly warning! Find the full programme and book in advance. It’s such an explosion of colour and noise and chaos (typical Baz), but it’s also so nuanced and subtle too. From the opening frames, there’s a clear sense of action muscling poetry to the side, as a gravelly voiceover introducing “two houses, both alike in dignity” is lost amid the noisy hoofbeats of a jousting tournament pitting the Capulets against the Montagues. The idea behind Backyard Cinema is to offer a more immersive cinema experience, and that was something we totally felt from the moment we stepped inside the beautiful London church. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The choir will be providing an epic live soundtrack throughout the film, so sit back and soak up the atmosphere of the magnificent St Mary's Church in Marylebone. Try another. So yes, these opening lines pretty much give the entire plot away HOWEVER with cinema it’s the experience that counts. By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Last Updated: 9th March 2020. (Notably, Stanley Kubrick’s longtime costume designer, Milena Canonero, receives a co-producing credit here.) A lush community garden built on an old railway track... See a play that’s never been seen before... Log In to add this article to My Favourites or to My To Do List, Not a member and want to find out more then click here. Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! Everything seems to unfold in a clumsy swirl of motion, sometimes even slow-motion: Juliet (Steinfeld) gets a particularly silly first scene, tilting her beaming, beatific face toward the viewer in a shot whose shampoo-commercial aesthetics are mercifully not a recurring thing. We use cookies to provide you with a great experience and to help our website run effectively. Which has sold out for the last six years they’ve screened it. Warning: Spoilers. ( Log Out /  Taking inspiration from Luhrmann’s cathedral death scene, St Mary’s Church … Monday March 12 2018. Friday February 10 2017. This is not avant-garde cinema; it's much worse than any experimental cinema that I've ever seen. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. For more information and tickets, visit the Backyard Cinema … Posted: Shakespeare gets a Hollywood make over in Baz Luhrmann's high-octane remake of Romeo and Juliet. Her co-star, Booth, has almost precisely the opposite problem; the actor meets the verbal demands of his role more than capably, but proves a much harder presence to warm to. Given that the two young leads aren’t ideally matched visually or verbally, it’s no wonder their tragic love story never quite gets off the ground, though the absence of chemistry, much less sexual heat, is scarcely the sole area in which this “Romeo & Juliet” comes up short. We already have this email. The desperation with which it tries to “update” the play and make it “relevant” is greatly depressing. Baz Luhrmann's acclaimed 1996 film will be set against the backdrop of Union Chapel, with it's stained glass windows and candle-lit aisles. In one grand but doomed gesture, writer-director Baz Luhrmann has made a film that (a) will dismay any lover of Shakespeare, and (b) bore anyone lured into the theater by promise of gang wars, MTV-style. Backyard Cinema in London, GB - Cinema Treasures photograph. But these are unusual times, so please check that events are still happening. © 2020 Time Out England Limited and affiliated companies owned by Time Out Group Plc. backyard cinema romeo and juliet. Backyard Cinema returns in 2017 for another pop-up screening of Baz Luhrmann's iconic 'Romeo + Juliet'. While Natascha McElhone’s Lady Capulet and Stellan Skarsgard’s Prince are largely functional here, Lord Capulet gets a splendidly self-deluded reading from Damian Lewis, a Royal Shakespeare Company veteran whose credits include Jonathan Kent’s 1995 staging of “Hamlet” and the BBC’s 2005 TV adaptation of “Much Ado About Nothing”; his mastery is more than apparent. Posted: Enjoy the greatest love story ever told, in a beautiful church with the Some Voices choir. Swarovski’s involvement aside, the scenery and accouterments look generally crystal-free, the bejeweled credits typeface notwithstanding. The swordplay sequences are shot in a rough-and-tumble handheld style that aims to lend the proceedings a shot of energy yet merely comes off as visually inconsistent. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/backyard-cinema-romeo-and-juliet Join them there for a 'Mission to Mars' themed series of screenings including 'Men In Black', 'E.T', 'Alien' and 'Interstellar'. Despite the ostensible benefits of having an Italian filmmaker work on his native soil, the film never really comes alive as a visual experience, despite the well-chosen locations, the handsome sets and Carlo Poggioli’s sumptuous costumes.