Romeo and Juliet or The Winter's Tale at RSC?

Hey guys, I could certainly use some advice. I'm flying into London via Shannon Airport (dublin) at about 9am on the morning of July 8th. Do you think I would have time to hop on the train and head up to Stratford-Upon-Avon to catch the 19:15 performance of Romeo and Juliet starring the irresistable Sam Troughton? If I had known about it prior to booking my flight, I would have flown in the day before, but I didn't find out until after I booked. Is it worth going through all this? Plus tickets are sold out, so I'd have to go through a broker. Which I don't mind, except I'd be in a pickle if my flight got delayed for some reason. Should I just plan on seeing The Winter's Tale instead? Anyone have any reccomendations?

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Thanks Weez! Yeah, I live in New York. I gotta admit, the main draw for Romeo and Juliet is definately Sam Troughton. I'd love to see him in a hefty role, but I think it's just gonna cause too much travel stress. I think I'm gonna stay in London for a few days, see some shows, and just give myself more time for my trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, which means I'll be there for The Winter's Tale.

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You'd have more than enough time to get to Stratford, and Romeo & Juliet is a really wonderful show. The Winter's Tale excellent also, but in a more traditional way (I agree, Darrell D'Silva wonderful in it, Weez - and my god he's fantastic as Antony in Ant & Cleo, too. And as Kent in Lear!). Romeo and Juliet on the other hand is the only time I've ever been swept away by that play ... and it is far less traditional. It's a very exciting show, and I never thought that of R&J before. I'd say it's the more special of the two productions. It's old-fashioned (which is fine, of course) versus very fresh and new.

Easy to get from Heathrow to Stratford upon Avon - just take express airport train to Paddington, change for a couple of stops to Marylebone, and off you go direct (though train only runs every couple of hours, check nationalrail.co.uk for timetables). Only takes just over 2 hours to get up there. If you check with the RSC you can find out the running time of both plays - usually they finish in time for you to zoom up the road to Stratford station for the last train back to London at 11pm.

However, fear not - I went to a talk by the guy who plays Mercutio in R&J a few weeks ago, and he said ALL the Shakespeares currently in repertoire are going to New York next summer, so you will be able to see whichever you miss out on then.

If you are a Sam Troughton fan, I'd also catch Julius Caesar where he's a great Brutus, and you also get to see D'Silva starting off his Mark Antony role before going on to by a million miles best Ant & Cleo I've ever seen. Enjoy!

Only just occurs to me that all this is academic. Unlike West End and Broadway, there are no ticket brokers for shows on at the RSC in Stratford. So a return ticket may well be your only chance for R&J, though it is worth calling up to check on standing room - usually there are a few no-shows and you can run down and sit in their places!