If you have ever wondered what happens when it pours down with rain during a Chester Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre production, I can now tell you.

Having so far been blessed with fine weather whenever I have been to see past presentations, this was the first chance I had to watch the crew cope with adverse conditions and I have to say I was as impressed with the efforts of the support team as I have always been with the creative minds behind this project.

They worked their sodden socks off using mops to drain away excess water and distributing cushions to audience members as they arrived and always had a smile and a cheery word to greet everyone with.

One big-hearted lad even spotted an unprotected mum and daughter on a front row seat and offered them his Chester Performs waterproof which they gratefully accepted while he retired to his position to get even more drenched!

All of this happened on Sunday afternoon ahead of the latest performance of Shakespeare’s classic doomed romance Romeo and Juliet and if the prospect of seeing any of this year’s shows while potentially dodging raindrops puts you off, let me assure you the experience was every bit as gratifying as it would be on the sunniest day of the year.

The Masked Ball scene from the 2015 Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet
The Masked Ball scene from the 2015 Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet

Full marks to director Alex Clifton for waiting until five years into the open air theatre concept before playing the trump card of presenting the story that even the most rabid Shakespeare hater knows inside out; the play which, after Hamlet, has probably the richest of all the Bard’s poetry.

And it came as no surprise to see him stamp his own mark of distinction on the work right from the inspired opening which Clifton decided to start with the celebrated street brawl and then have the famous ‘Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona’ introductory lines delivered by Romeo and Juliet themselves while the fight continued. A brilliant touch!

From this point on, the action rattled along with the director’s customary rapid pace helped by the quick realisation that while he has upped the Italian factor with the clever use of musical interludes, he has also grounded the story in a gritty reality that is refreshingly down to earth.

The 2015 Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet
The 2015 Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet

Jessica Clark and Adam Harley are unforgettable in the title roles, mainly because they do not play them as star-struck, simpering, soppy young lovers but as stroppy, bad-tempered, self-centred teenagers who know what they want and don’t care who they have to use or abuse to get it.

Harley’s accent and approach reminded one of a very young David Tennant while Clark managed the impossible task of surpassing her outstanding performance in last year’s Secret Garden by giving us a Juliet so brattishly determined to get her own way that she frequently growled her lines! I’ve never heard a Juliet do that before!

Clifton’s supreme confidence in this environment was never felt more keenly than in his decision to run the last two acts as virtually a single scene with Juliet’s bed the focal point while crucial moments such as the fateful plotting involving sleeping potions and fatal poisons unfold around it.

The heartbreaking finale to the 2015 Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet
The heartbreaking finale to the 2015 Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet

It was an audacious move but also one which kept the story moving quickly and, I believe, helped even those who have never seen the play before maintain an easy understanding of events that might not be quite so clear if the action was broken up in a more conventional manner.

So whether you feel you know Romeo and Juliet back to front or have never seen the play performed live before, there is something fresh and new to be savoured in this Chester production - come rain or shine!