Romeo & Juliet at Flashpoint

Washington Post - Recommended

"...On the strength of these parallels, Wilson builds his production, which features commedia masks, a mere five performers and a script that the director, collaborating with actor Paul Reisman, has ruthlessly whittled down from Shakespeare’s text. Obviously, much of the play’s poetry gets the ax; and as for pathos and catharsis, there’s little more here than would fit in an empty hazelnut. But this tweaked “Romeo and Juliet” sheds light on the play’s humor and plotting, and it suggests the cheeky, riff-on-the-familiar aesthetic that must have been a hallmark of the improvisatory commedia."

Washington City Paper - Recommended

"... A willowy, mischievous Gwen Grastorf and a lithe, puppy-eyed Drew Kopas are Juliet and her Romeo—the heart of the show, but not by any means its whole. The virtue of punching up the comedy in Romeo and Juliet is that it throws the horrors into stark relief; just consider, for instance, the very different reactions to Juliet’s “death” by sleeping potion and her actual expiration over Romeo’s cooling corpse. Those are group scenes, full of clamor and comment, and every fool in this faction makes a substantial contribution there."

ShowBizRadio - Somewhat Recommended

"... Director Matthew R. Wilson tackles a lot in a short span of time. There are times when the modern line interpretation and Commedia style work very well; for example, the first Montague/Capulet brawl and thumb-biting scene. For that matter, the entire play up until the death of Tybalt works quite well, conceptually. However, the tragedy that follows only works in an alienating way when interspersed with lazzi antics. The depth and gravity is missed the minute Friar Laurence steps on Paris’ body in the tomb."

Afro - Recommended

the effect of watching this Romeo and Juliet feels something akin to chugging champagne. Faction of Fools sails through this brisk adaptation with a barely-bottled energy that keeps things perpetually popping without running dry.

MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended

"...Let us begin. Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet. Even if you don’t think you know it, you have seen a movie or a show that is based on it and follows it almost point for point. But, just in case you don’t know it, here it is: Boy desperately loves girl, boy sees another girl, boy forgets about first girl. Girl swoons at attention given by capricious boy, falls in love, makes some strange decisions (she is 14, what do you expect). Families hate each other, speech, corpse, speech, corpse. Priest roofies girl, girl falls down like she’s dead. Boy sees girl dead, boy kills himself. Girl wakes, girl sees boy dead, girl kills herself. Both fathers stand over corpses of their children and listen to the roofie purveying priest tell them how it was all his fault. Or something like that. It’s by this guy Shakespeare."