From #eggboy to Greta Thunberg, 2019 is the year young people spoke up and refused to be overlooked. So why should they be overlooked in literature too? The greatest love story ever told gets a rethink this summer at Shakespeare specialist theatre company Sport for Jove’s outdoor season, as director Damien Ryan puts teenagers where they should be – at the heart of the story. With an original a cappella score composed by Naomi and Drew Livingston (The River at the End of the Road), Ryan has assembled a cast of up and coming teenage stars to bring new life and energy to Shakespeare’s tragic tale. Sixteen-year-old Oliver Ryan (Rose Riot) and newcomer Claudia Elbourne play the star-crossed lovers, in a cast that also includes stage veteran Wendy Strehlow (Cyrano de Bergerac) as the stern-faced grand dame of the Capulet clan.
This year, Sport for Joves summer season is returning to Bella Vista Farm and the Everglades at Leura, and is taking on a third venue: Old Government House in Parramatta Park.