Shakespeare North Playhouse and Graeae Theatre Company co-production in association with Theatre by the Lake

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Sat 12 - Sat 26 October | Press night Tue 15 October at 7:30pm

“Love is heavy and light, bright and dark, hot and cold, sick and healthy, asleep and awake

- it is everything except what it is.”

Together with Shakespeare North Playhouse and Graeae, Theatre by the Lake announces a new production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet for this autumn. Directed by Graeae’s Artistic Director Jenny Sealey, 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.

A group of actors queue for their next big break. The audition line fizzes with nervousness and anticipation. You think you know how this story goes, and who this couple is? Maybe you do… Maybe you don’t.

This contemporary 'play within a play' retelling of Shakespeare’s tragic story of star-crossed lovers seamlessly weaves BSL, Captions and Audio Description into the storytelling. Each show is performed in a relaxed environment by an ensemble of Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent actors.

Laura Collier, Creative Director at Shakespeare North Playhouse, says "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 crushingly explore the conflict of youth. In this new production I want all 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."

Jenny Sealey OBE, Artistic Director at Graeae says "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."