Proceedings begin as expected: "Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene ..."  and conclude with the familar lament: "For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo." Prologue and epilogue are delivered, as written, by the six-strong cast acting as a chorus. But in between, swathes of text have been removed from the tale of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers in this pint-sized adaptation by Gary Wilson for c21 Theatre Company.

There must be something currently circulating in the Irish air, summoning small-scale revisions of Shakespeare and, in particular, Romeo and Juliet. Second Age has just completed a run of the very same play at the Helix in Dublin, also with a cast of six actors, in a reconfigured production by Conor Hanratty. 

Arthur Webb's compact, closely focused production is all about youth. Its cast is largely composed of twenty-something actors; its target audience is Shakespeare-averse secondary school pupils. Webb is an experienced educationalist, as well as an inveterate theatre practitioner, who understands instinctively what makes young people tick. Thus, neither he nor Wilson have shirked from dispensing with selected characters and scenes in favour of retaining both the core of the universal love story and the glorious poetry of the original text.

So, out go the Ladies Capulet and Montague, the joker Benvolio and sundry servants, citizens and retainers. Those who remain to tell the tale include the central pairing – played by Michael Lavery and Jolene O’Hara – and assorted others: Mark Claney as the clerics; Eoghan Lamb as Tybalt, Montague, the Apothecary and a strangely accented Paris; Rachael McCabe as the Nurse and the Prince of Verona; Dan Leith as Capulet and Mercutio.

A simple, medieval-styled set, placed inside a black box, confines much of the action to the interior of the Capulet household. The actors come to the front of the stage for the street fighting scenes, the church visits, even Romeo’s exile but it is difficult, within the restrictions of space and casting, to create the swirling tension and dynamics between the warring clans, which prompt, for example, the killing of Mercutio and the revenge murder of Tybalt.

Thus, there is considerable responsibility resting upon the slight shoulders of the cast, who acquit themselves with commendable concentration and versatility. In appearance and demeanour, Lavery and O’Hara underline the tender age of Shakespeare’s lovers. O’Hara lends a sweet, excitable eagerness to her softly-spoken Juliet, maturing from impressionable teenager to bereft young widow as the tragedy unfolds. Lavery is a puppyish, tousled Romeo, an earnest boy who never quite reaches the emotional maturity of his bride and departs their – hidden from view – marriage bed with a peremptory “Adieu, adieu”.

McCabe, ever comfortable with Shakespearean verse and characterisation, introduces calm wisdom as Juliet’s Nurse, while Leith brings brief flashes of divilment and daring to the flamboyant Malvolio and gravitas and credibility to the frequently underplayed role of Capulet.

The passage of time is signalled by the sound of drums, tabours and tolling bells, while nicely synchronised lighting changes transport the action between locations. At 90 minutes, without an interval, this snappy little production provides both an excellent introduction to Shakespeare and a sound exercise in economical classic storytelling.

Jane Coyle is a Belfast-based freelance arts journalist and critic, who also contributes to The Irish Times, The Stage, Culture Northern Ireland and BBC Radio Ulster.