August’s Picture of the Month is an action-packed image from the RSC’s 1986 modern dress production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Michael Bogdanov. It depicts the fight between Tybalt (Hugh Quarshie) and Mercutio (Michael Kitchen) in Act 3 scene 1. It captures really well both the brutality of the fight, where Tybalt holds the metal chain around Mercutio’s throat, and the somewhat comic grouping of those trying to stop him strangling Mercutio. After this moment, there followed a chase around the stage and up and down the stairs. Only then did the fight become serious with both men drawing flick knives. The Financial Times described the production as “a cross between Absolute Beginners and West Side Story with a dash of La Dolce Vita"!