Shakespeare's R & J
directed by Alastair Whatley
designed by Victoria Spearing
lighting by Alan Valentine
costume by Fiona Davis
“R+J is a gem, the most inventive reimagining of a classic in years” Wall Street Journal
In the 1950’s at an exclusive boarding school, four pupils run into the chapel late one night in a bid to escape from their repressive school routines and begin reading the story Romeo and Juliet aloud. School and social rules are addressed and shattered as the students come to understand the real price of challenging fate and the true dangers of forbidden love.
As both the stories of Romeo and Juliet and the four lads unfold during the course of one thrilling evening, audience and actors alike discover the power of theatre and the new worlds it can open up. Highly energetic, physical and packed with the energy of youth and beauty of Shakespeare language, this really is Shakespeare at his most accessible and daring.
“An inspired new theatrical take on this early masterpiece.” The Independent
“I’d forgotten the play could be so good…I seemed to hear the words for the first time” The Times
