Romeo and Juliet

Starring: Jack Ryder, Sara Lloyd Gregory and The Wales Theatre Company

Showing Tuesday 18 November to Saturday 22 November 2008
Transport | Access

Performance Times: Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm, Wednesday and Thursday Matinees at 1.30pm

call our box office on 01253 290190

Group bookings call 01253 743232

JACK RYDER (EastEnders)
SARA LLOYD GREGORY (Torchwood and Tess of the D'Urbervilles)
as the 'star-crossed' lovers

Directed by two-time Olivier Award winner Michael Bogdanov
Fights by Malcolm Ranson
Design by Sean Crowley

Romeo and Juliet is the world’s greatest love story. Shakespeare’s soaring hymn to young love stands at the gateway of tolerance an compassion, stretching its hands out to us across the centuries, as fresh and as pertinent today as when first penned. Romeo and Juliet is a warning to us all to live and let live and not allow our lives to be ruled by bigotry and prejudice.

Jew, Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, black or white – it is a plea for us to be united in our difference. For where love is forbidden, tragedy will follow. A Sihk boy and a Hindu girl die in a suicide pact. A young Muslim girl is dragged back to India to marry a man she has never met. A pair of sixteen year olds from Yorkshire run away together, fearing their parents’ disapproval. A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life. This is Britain 2000.

Who is to blame? The gold statues erected by their parents to the memory of Romeo and Juliet will not atone. Only a sea-change in society. Bring it on…

Following award-winning productions of Twelfth Night, Cymbeline, The Merchant of Venice and Hamlet, The Wales Theatre Company now brings you Shakespeare’s definitive tale of poison and passion, feuding and fighting, pride and prejudice.

Post-show Discussion - Tuesday 18th November
A chance for the audience to ask the company questions about the production. Free with a show ticket, ask at time of booking.

School Workshops - Wednesday 19th November
Led by 4/5 cast from the production. A 75 minute workshop in the theatre auditorium ideal for students exploring the context, content and style of Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare.

£100 (30 Students, additional students £3.00 each). Students must attend the show. For more details call 01253 290111.

PRESS REVIEW

A truly contemporary tale
Sep 23 2008 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail

BY far the strongest and most persuasive of Wales Theatre Company’s Shakespearean offerings to date, this beguiling production stars ex-EastEnders actor Jack Ryder and Ammanford-born Sara Lloyd-Gregory (fresh from her appearance in the BBC’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles) in the title roles.

Having sat through countless productions of Romeo and Juliet over the years – both professional and amateur – I never cease to marvel at the bizarre lengths to which some directors go to make this timeless tale “relevant” to a new generation of theatregoers.

I have even had the misfortune to watch a university drama society production set on a council estate in which Juliet’s nurse was transformed into a social worker.

Happily, there is no such nonsense here: artistic director Michael Bogdanov’s raison d’etre is to spread the message that the works of the Bard can be easily understood by anyone, and with this one he has succeeded in presenting a superb piece of theatre without recourse to gimmickry.

True, this is a very contemporary treatment (the apothecary, for example, is portrayed here as a baseball-capped drug dealer with dreadlocks), but this in no way detracts from the power and majesty of the dialogue.

Wales Theatre Company’s regulars – including Russell Gomer, Kathryn Dimery, Bill Bellamy and Ieuan Rhys – are joined not only by Christine Pritchard (who contributes a fabulously comic turn as the nurse) but also by a host of newcomers to the company, including Fluellen Theatre Company’s Bethan Thomas, Grassroots regular Richard Tunley and a group of young performers from local performing arts schools and colleges.

Sean Crowley’s set – dominated by a chessboard-style floor – provides the perfect space upon which the cast can work their magic and bring the words to life.

Heartening to see that high quality theatre is alive and kicking in Wales, and that in the right hands Shakespearean dialogue can reach down the centuries and be readily understood by a modern audience.

Romeo and Juliet is at Swansea Grand Theatre until Saturday before touring

See the full article here

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Presented By: The Wales Theatre Company

Booking information

Tuesday to Saturday Evenings:
Dress £20.00 - Concessions £18.00
Stalls £20.00 - Concessions £18.00
Upper Circle £18.00 - Concessions £16.00
Side Upper Circle £16.00 - Concessions £14.00
Gallery £13.00

Wednesday and Thursday Matinees:
All seats £9.50

Discounts:
Full Time Students £9.50 (all peformances)

Schools £9.50 (all performances)

Friends
£3.00 off Opening Night, Dress and Stalls only

BOX OFFICE
Open 10am to 8pm (subject to change due to performances). All major credit and debit cards are accepted over the telephone and in person. When booking by credit card, a booking fee of £1.50 per transaction is applicable. Debit cards attract no booking fee.

CONCESSIONS
Concessions, where offered, apply to: Senior Citizens, Registered Disabled, Under 18s, Full-time students, Registered Unemployed, Equity, BECTU and MU members. Please note you may be asked for relevant identification when requesting concessions. Only one concession per ticket is allowed and may not be used in conjunction with any other offers. Concessions and offers are subject to availability and allocated at the discretion of the Box Office.

POSTAL ADDRESS
Grand Theatre, 33 Church Street, Blackpool, FY1 1HT. Cheques should be made payable to Blackpool Grand Theatre and remember to add 60p to your total, if you would like your tickets posted back to you.

PARKING
'SHOW AND PARK' Directly opposite the theatre’s entrance is the secure West Street Car Park. Special 'SHOW AND PARK' discounted West Street Car Park tickets are ONLY £2.50 allowing you to park from 5.30pm to 12.30am. Book your parking ticket when you book your show tickets from the Box Office. We are obliged to Blackpool Council for providing this parking facility.