Romeo And Juliet Appeals Through The Ages

Globe Education Performance of Shakespeare’s best known play evokes emotive rapturous applause at Abu Dhabi Theatre

The Abu Dhabi Festival began its month-long programme of events with a vibrant performance of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet by the Globe Education theatre company. Under the direction of accomplished Shakespearean actor and director Bill Buckhurst, actress Jade Anouka as Juliet combined with Will Featherstone as Romeo brought the much-loved fable alive onstage before a captivated audience.

In keeping with the Festival’s mandate of education and community outreach, the Abu Dhabi Theatre was packed with a diverse audience of young and old, who sat in rapt attention—four hundred years after the play’s original performance in Elizabethan London - as this unique rendition of Romeo and Juliet, specially conceived and adapted for young audiences, unfolded before them to its tragic end.
Using all available space in the theatre and a combination of clever sound design and sparse costuming, the spell-binding performance uses the original Shakespearean language but subtly adapts the theatrical experience to be accessible to students experiencing the Bard’s work for the first time.

Throughout Romeo and Juliet’s 2-day public run in Abu Dhabi, Globe Education will also conduct in-school workshops to guide youngsters into the world of Shakespeare, the context in which the play was originally performed, and the continuing relevance and importance of Shakespeare in the world today. The production is also supported by an accompanying interactive website www.playingshakespeare.org, providing in-depth resources for both students and teachers to explore in the classroom.

Performing at the Festival for the third year running, Globe Education is a leading arts educator and hub for Shakespearean study based in the reconstructed Globe Theatre in London. Their rendition of Romeo and Juliet, part of the annual Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank series, will return to London for a fully-booked two week run playing to over 15,000 students.

The 10th Abu Dhabi Festival continues until March 31, with the best in regional and international music, opera, dance and visual arts. The next event, on March 9, will see students from Abu Dhabi schools performing with the prestigious Declassifed Ensemble from New York’s Carnegie Hall on Young Artists’ Day.

Information on schedules, tickets and programme is available on the festival website on www.abudhabifestival.ae.

Emirate:  Abu Dhabi

Date: Mar 4, 2013

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