ROMEO AND JULIET
CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR NEW RETELLING OF SHAKESPEARE’S ETERNAL LOVE STORY
EACH SHOW TO BE PERFORMED BY AN ENSEMBLE OF DEAF, DISABLED AND NEURODIVERGENT ACTORS.
DIRECTED BY GRAEAE’S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JENNY SEALEY
SHAKESPEARE NORTH PLAYHOUSE
FRIDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2024 – SATURDAY 5 OCTOBER 2024
THEATRE BY THE LAKE
SATURDAY 12 – SATURDAY 26 OCTOBER 2024
“Love is heavy and light, bright and dark, hot and cold, sick and healthy, asleep and awake – it is everything except what it is.”
Shakespeare North Playhouse and Graeae today announce casting for a new production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet this autumn. Directed by Graeae’s artistic director Jenny Sealey and staged in association with Theatre by the Lake, the production will open at Shakespeare North Playhouse on 13 September, where it will run to 5 October, before moving to Theatre by the Lake from 12 to 26 October. This retelling of Shakespeare’s eternal love story will seamlessly weave BSL, captions and audio description into the storytelling. Each show will be performed in a relaxed environment by an ensemble of Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent actors.
Against all odds, a young couple fall in love.
An intense, vibrant love that burns and ignites a powder keg within communities already smoldering with tension. Tragic misunderstandings follow, with deadly consequences.
You think you know how this story goes, and who this couple is?
Maybe you do… Maybe you don’t.
This new production of Shakespeare’s tragic story of star-crossed lovers, celebrates differences, challenges preconceptions and shines a light on what ultimately brings us together – love.
The cast for this production will include Petre Dobre (The Outrun, Song in Sign, “Time To Wake Up” ((Wake Up Triple Bill, Solard Bear)), Ciaran Forrest, Kellan Frankland (House of Bernarda Alba, And Others), Cherie Gordon (Precious Emily, Everyday, Summer’s Park Adventure), Shreya M Patel (Much Ado About Nothing, Night Shift),Reece Pantry (Of Mice and Men, Happiness, Comedy of Errors) and, making her professional stage debut, Rheanon Shaw. The BSL performance interpreters will be Irmina St Catherine and Craig Painting.
Jenny Sealey OBE, Artistic Director at Graeae said, “Someone on Twitter told me, ‘here’s a novel idea- do a Shakespeare with an all disabled cast and sell tickets to only disabled people. Good luck with that’. Well, I am indeed doing a Shakespeare- Romeo and Juliet with an all Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent cast but it is a play for the audiences of the North West whether they be Deaf, disabled, neurodivergent or non-disabled. Romeo and Juliet is a play that can touch us all. I am very excited to be working on this with my wonderful cast and creative team and to play at Shakespeare North Playhouse and Theatre by the Lake. “
Laura Collier, Creative Director at Shakespeare North Playhouse, ““We are thrilled to embark on this incredible collaboration with Graeae and Theatre by the Lake. Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most famous of all stories to explore the conflict of youth. In this new production I want the audience to feel like all of us can be Romeo, and all of us can be Juliet. Together, we will celebrate humanity, challenge preconceptions, and shine a light on what ultimately brings us together—love.”
Romeo and Juliet will be directed by Jenny Sealey, with Anthony Gough as assistant director. The show will be designed by Tim Meacock, with lighting design by Simisola Majekodunmi, and sound design by Oliver Vibrans. Anthony Gough will be audio description consultant, with Christopher Harrison as AV designer (creative captions), and Daryl Jackson as BSL consultant. Vicky Berry will be access manager for Graeae, and Ben Spiller will be Shakespeare consultant. Casting by Liv Barr. The stage management team is Katie Bosomworth (CSM), Andrea Claire as DSM and Harry Fearnley-Brown (production manager). Mark Lockyer will be voice coach.