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Marc Bendavid (Romeo) and Pam Patel (Juliet) in MTC’s Romeo and Juliet.

Setting Romeo and Juliet in modern-day Jerusalem is a strong concept on paper, but the Bard’s antiquated English holds it back

Only in theory. Steven Schipper’s idea to set Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in contemporary Jerusalem — converting the clashing Capulet and Montague families into Muslims and Jews — is incredibly interesting, but the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre production never quite capitalizes on the concept.

Now, moving the classic tragedy to the Middle East is no small endeavour and MTC’s artistic director does well to deliver the basics. A multi-ethnic cast in modern dress signifies the situation, while Michael Gianfrancesco’s stone-heavy set design has a holy-city vibe. But, visuals aren’t the issue here. No, the problem is Shakespeare’s story itself.

Yes, blame the Bard — or at least Schipper’s decision to stay true to his script. By keeping Bill’s words, Schipper’s concept is star-crossed from the start. The goal of any re-imagination is to have the audience see and hear a story as though for the first time, but it’s very hard to say anything new with the same dialogue. The stress that surfaces in Schipper’s Romeo and Juliet is not from its new setting, but from its text. Sure, there’s a smartphone here and a machine gun there, but these modern-day devices don’t increase the tragedy’s tension, they only cement the setting. In fact, it might as well be 16th-century Verona.

That said, once one gets past the fact that the Middle Eastern twist is not at all a twist, Romeo and Juliet is quite enjoyable. Give Schipper top marks for his direction; Shakespeare’s dense and challenging language can be a chore for contemporary ears, but here, the characters hold themselves and move in a modern way that makes it all easily understandable. Had Romeo and Juliet waddled around in Renaissance wear, the love and tragedy might be lost on 21st-century theatregoers.

Speaking of our star-crossed lovers, as Romeo, Marc Bendavid is highly adept at both the whimsical and woeful. Pam Patel, a young Kitchener-based actor, shows her age and inexperience as Juliet, her performance a little stilted at times, but charming nonetheless. On the topic of charm, Gareth Potter exudes charisma as the witty, high-spirited Mercutio. An absolute scene stealer, Potter drinks, fights and dry humps his way into our hearts, providing the play’s most humourous moments.

It’s probably safe to say fake-fucking your friends wasn’t big with the Bard, but it’s these touches of today that make Romeo and Juliet interesting. While setting the play in the present does create a few plot problems (The most notable being Friar Laurence’s letter to Romeo regarding Juliet’s faked death. Really? A letter? This is 2011! How about an email that ends up in the junk filter?), it makes the tragic love story relatable — even with Shakespeare’s antiquated English.

Minus the Middle Eastern concept, Schipper’s modern take on Romeo and Juliet is mostly pleasurable. Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love.