If all outdoor Shakespeare was as decent and honest as Richard Beecham's production, then this kind of Shakespeare in the park wouldn't have the reputation of being mere tourist fodder.
This is the sixth year that the enterprising Creation theatre company has taken over the island in the middle of the Cherwell in the Magdalen school grounds and it clearly knows what it is doing.
It may offer few new insights but Beecham's neatly cut version (his young cast numbers just eight) tells the story with commendable clarity and a pleasing raciness. Often you can't wait for the lovers to dispatch themselves; here they get down to business in just two-and-a-half hours.
What it lacks in subtlety the production more than makes up for with energy and playfulness. Its trump card is a couple of sparky, pathetically young star-crossed lovers played by Lisa Ellis and Danny Nutt, who can handle both the emotion and the verse. Some of the other performances are pretty basic, although Emma Pallant's Lady Capulet is notable for the way she suggests an untold story lurking in her difficult relationship with her daughter.
A wooden cross dominates the stage, but apart from some singing and Juliet's Virgin Mary T-shirt, the religious motif isn't carried through convincingly. In fact, Anthony Washington's Friar Laurence is just a pompous young fool.
As the evening progresses the lighting is so dim that it is hard to see the expressions clearly, which rather robs the final scenes of emotion. But this is a gently affecting evening that will give children a good introduction to Shakespeare.Few productions will capture quite so well the sheer giddiness of first love.
Until September 1. Box office: 01865 245745.
