Kissing by the book: Molly Marr-Johnson’s Juliet and Alfie Jameson’s Romeo in The Duke’s Theatre Company’s Romeo And Juliet
THREE North Yorkshire open-air venues will welcome The Duke’s Theatre Company’s bold, high-energy reimagining of Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet this week.
The Brighton touring company will play Esplanade & Prince of Wales Terrace, Scarborough, on Wednesday, Valley Gardens, Harrogate, on Thursday and Ripon Racecourse on Friday, promoted by Ripon Theatre Festival.
The trio of 7pm performances are part of a multi-date national tour of outdoor locations, from the cliff-top theatre at Minack in Cornwall to Scottish castles and stately homes, gardens, abbeys and parks across the UK, playing to more than 40,000 spectators.
Blending dynamic staging, evocative sound and the enduring power of Shakespeare’s verse, this retelling of Romeo And Juliet illuminates the passion, peril and youthful intensity at the play’s core, inviting audiences to rediscover the world’s most famous star-crossed lovers.
Joshua Merara’s Benvolio, left, and Joe Carrick’s Mercutio in The Duke’s Theatre Company’s Romeo And Juliet
Joseph Pitcher’s cast of six is headed by Alfie Jameson as Romeo and Molly Marr-Johnson as Juliet, in her professional debut after graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, joined by Joe Carrick as Mercutio and Lady Capulet, Sam Claridge as Tybalt and Paris, Emily Juler as Nurse and Prince and Joshua Merara as Friar Lawrence and Benvolio. All other roles will be played by members of the company.
Pitcher has directed Gypsy (UK Theatre Award for Best Musical Production) and My Fair Lady at The Mill at Sonning and Macbeth at the Salomans Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. For Romeo And Juliet, he leads a production team of designer Diego Pitarch (Sunset Boulevard and Spend, Spend, Spend, London) and award-winning composer Rob Millett (Ballet Rambert, National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe), who has provided original music.
For Ripon Theatre Festival, Friday’s performance will provide the finale to a season of more than 160 events in July.
For tickets, go to: https://www.thedukestheatrecompany.co.uk/book-now.