Guildford High Street to be taken over by immersive Romeo & Juliet performance
It's happening between the 21st of June and the 13th of July
When Juliet asked the famous question, ‘O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ she probably never expected the answer to be Guildford High Street.
But that’s exactly where he, and the rest of the Montague and Capulet families, will be between the 21st of June and the 13th of July this summer.
For three weeks, Guildford Shakespeare Company is closing the High Street every evening to bring to life the timeless tragedy of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, Romeo & Juliet.
The performance will be acted out at locations such as the Guildhall balcony, Abbot’s Hospital, Tunsgate Quarter and other prominent landmarks.
The audience will follow the action through Guildford as the story unfolds, before eventually reaching its tragic conclusion in Castle Gardens.
The professional cast will be joined by a Community Ensemble of adults and young people.
The Youth Ensemble will play the street gangs of the Capulets and Montagues, with their members coming from local schools and drama clubs.
The ambitious project marks the 18th birthday of the Guildford Shakespeare Company, who are putting on the performance.
Alongside the main production the Guildford Shakespeare Company will also visit schools to deliver special knife crime awareness workshops.
Additionally, the GSC Saturdays drama group will create a Forum Theatre event for public performance and discussion on the 3rd of July, with guest speakers in attendance.
Director of Romeo & Juliet and GSC Co-Founder Matt Pinches says that bringing Shakespeare’s great love story to the streets of Guildford is an exciting prospect.
“It’s a story bursting with passion, with hope, and with heart.”
“Embracing our site-responsive approach imbues Shakespeare’s story with immediacy and energy, and I hope that audiences will feel swept up in the same whirlwind of excitement as these two young people find themselves.”
“To be closing the High Street for 3 weeks, using multiple iconic venues, two incredible community ensembles and a brilliantly talented professional cast and creative team is, I hope, the perfect way to celebrate the unifying power that theatre, both making and going, wields.”
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