Page 497 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

Metcalfe working behind the scenes. Photo: Ben Purkiss

However, he does concede that Romeo and Juliet “blurs the lines” between

the mediums, showing scenes that you wouldn’t normally see in a filmed

theatre production and featuring a non-diegetic soundtrack, composed by

Sam Dinley. It is certainly being released in a theatrical manner – audience

members can book tickets for specific ‘performances’, just in time for
Valentine’s Day.

Metcalfe, who grew up in County Durham (“Dominic Cummings territory”)

and is still only 23, is a theatre enthusiast and has ambitions to produce
work on real stages in the future. But in the meantime, he is attempting to

find a commercially viable model for an art form facing an existential

threat. And perhaps it may even have a longer life beyond the pandemic.

“We may have stumbled across a new medium that will stick around after

[restrictions are removed],” he says. “This does present a way to make high-

quality work, where everybody in the process can get paid.”