Theatre Review: The Trial of Romeo Oscar @ The New Vic

Review by Dave Stringer.

Imagine a post-apocalyptic world where Earth has been under attacks so severe that most of life has to continue in a subterranean world and – with little living above ground – the only trees to be seen are, as Joni Mitchell predicted, only to be seen in a true museum. To escape the holocaust, many of the world’s inhabitants have been scattered around the universe to re-establish colonies elsewhere.

This is the existence that we are taken into by Alan Ayckbourn who, in his 92^nd published play, once again takes us into the world of science fiction and a nightmare era where big business has taken complete control in the absence of formal government and is able to choose both the prosecution and defence counsel in a court case no matter its importance

It is clear that the trial of Romeo Oscar will set a legal precedent as it is the first time that a humanoid will be charged with murder so it is very surprising that Citrus – the huge business concern – has brought in an inexperienced lawyer from Titan named Allistra Clay (Frances Marshall) to defend the accused.

There is, of course, method in the conglomerate’s madness as it wishes to win the case against a business rival and they expect Clay to be gobbled up by prosecutor Ronal Lime-Taylor. However, they have not taken into account that she is one of the few humans who still retain a love and joy for the classical arts.

Knowledge of music and literature has disappeared from the minds of the younger generation and only remains alive for those raised in isolated parts of the universe or those who have been allowed to live long beyond the life span of their predecessors due to advances in medicine.

One of these is Arbiter Jefferies (Russell Richardson) who is to preside over the trial who is able to recognise nursery rhymes and fairy tales that have disappeared from the memory of most humans. And the knowledge of the works of William Shakespeare becomes central to the case.

A vehicle sent into space to seek safety has problems and is forced to crash land on a desolate moon rotating around Uranus. Only three people survive the disaster – a young couple who are on the verge of becoming parents and an engineer. The engineer survives just long enough to assemble an artificial nanny that will look after the baby girl- named Juliet after the moon of her birth until she enters the time of puberty.

RSDO 83 (Richard Stacey) is on a mission to clear the enemy from the universe. As a trained killer, he is used to destroy anything that moves. When landing on the moon Juliet, he mistakenly disables the artificial nanny and, with the human parents now having passed, the Search and Destro Operative is left with a baby to care for. Fortunately, he is able to download all of the information from the nanny and is able to raise the girl.

The problems arise when Juliet learns of Shakespeare and, knowing that the robot’s call sign is Romeo, she becomes obsessed with play-acting the tragedy – in particular, the death scene. What the jury must decide is whether Juliet has taken her own life or whether RSDO 83 has become so exasperated with the constant repetition that he disposes of his charge.

The First Act is the preparation for the trial with Engineer Devaney Dyer (Elizabeth Boag) and android Assistant Arbiter Octavius (Leigh Symonds) struggling to decipher the diverse contents of the soldier’s memory. There is a stark difference between the Engineer’s lack of culture and the Court Official’s willingness to absorb new language and ideas.

Allistra is able to glimpse a way of mounting a defence and enlists the help of wannabe actress Hermione Quinque (Olivia Woolhouse) to enact Juliet’s final moments.

The First Act may be a little too measured in its approach but the pace quickens during Act 2 and we see an impassioned and tense duel between prosecution and defence alongside a beautifully portrayed death scene from one of Shakespeare’s greatest.

Some precise acting from all of the cast aided by a simple but faithfully futuristic set designed by Kevin Jenkins makes for a piece of theatre that is well worth a visit.

Unfortunately, the theme of this play comes so soon after the peerless update of Romeo and Juliet. While not quite matching that drama, Ayckbourn has once again penned something with humour and interest that leaves the audience with questions to ponder. Are humans destined to suffer because they have lost the ability to listen and learn? Quite a thought.

The Trial of Romeo Oscar continues until October 31^st and has a running time of approximately three hours including interval. For ticket information contact tickets@newvictheatre.org.uk