Lloyd’s of London used to be famous for insuring the otherwise bizarre and impossible to insure, like fielding Stanley Kubrick’s request to insure that aliens wouldn’t arrive before the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
But I can’t imagine Lloyd’s wanting to touch this artistic London production.
Romeo & Mohammed is a modern, queer reimagining of Romeo and Juliet, set against the vibrant backdrop of the streets of Croydon, London. The play blends sharp wit and lyrical poetry to tell a story that is as urgent as it is timeless. The story follows two men, Romeo and Mohammed, as they navigate the claustrophobic confines of their shared reality, where cultural pressures, family expectations, and religious obligations collide.
Someone seems to have explained reality to those involved in the production and the timeless tale of Romeo and Mohammed getting it on has had its title changed to ‘Romeo and Hamed’ which is the same thing and not likely to fool actual Muslims.
Enjoy the uh timeless tale of a forbidden love between Mohammed and Romeo set among raves in ‘vibrant’ Croydon.
This is a story of pain and pleasure, desire and violence, love as something that leaves a mark. Raves become arenas of chaos and release, a rooftop in Croydon becomes a place of worship, and emotions swing without warning from euphoria to devastation.
Told in relentless, lyrical verse, Romeo & Hamed is urgent, feral, sexy and unafraid to ask difficult questions.
Relentless lyrical verse indeed.
“A suicide bombing this morning with it brings
The sun rises with a cut off head
Go hence to have more talk of these sad things
Some shall be pardoned and some punished
For never was a story of more woe
than this of Mohammed and his Romeo.”