Daniel Briere and Sara Topham Lead Stratford's ROMEO AND JULIET; Previews Begin Tonight

One of Britain's leading directors, Tim Carroll, returns to the Stratford Festival to present the most famous love story ever told. Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's timeless tragedy of star-crossed lovers who risk everything to be together, begins previews on Wednesday, May 1, at the Festival Theatre.

A founding member of The Factory and Associate Director at Shakespeare's Globe in London from 1999 to 2005, Mr. Carroll has had a prolific career in theatre. He recently directed Mark Rylance - the Globe's first Artistic Director - in Globe productions of Richard III and Twelfth Night, and in 2010, he made his Stratford debut as director of the wildly popular Peter Pan.

"It is an incredible honour to be asked to do Shakespeare on the amazingly beautiful stage of the Festival Theatre," Mr. Carroll says. "I think of the truly great theatre artists who designed and built this theatre, and who have worked on it over the last 60 years, and now here I am doing one of the big ones on that stage. If that doesn't excite you, it's time to check you still have a pulse."

In its tenth Stratford production, the classic story will be performed in Original Practices, a style of performance that evokes the manner in which Shakespeare's plays were originally staged in the Elizabethan era.

"I have staged Romeo and Juliet as though it were indeed an afternoon performance in an Elizabethan playhouse," says Mr. Carroll. "The light will not change to suit the scenes, any more than the scenery will move to reflect new settings. We will know where we are, what time of day it is, and everything else from the starting point of Shakespeare's theatre: the actors and the words they speak."

The title roles will be played by Stratford newcomer Daniel Briere and Festival favourite Sara Topham. The cast also features Nehassaiu deGannes as Lady Capulet, Jonathan Goad as Mercutio, Kate Hennig as the Nurse, Tom McCamus as Friar Laurence and Scott Wentworth as Capulet.

The production's artistic team includes Set Designer Douglas Paraschuk, Costume Designer Carolyn M. Smith, Lighting Designer Kevin Fraser, Composer Claudio Vena, Sound Designer Jim Neil, Movement Coach Shona Morris and Fight Director John Stead.

In a playbill that explores communities in conflict, Romeo and Juliet is a particularly apt choice.

"I have assembled a season with a particular focus on examining how we reach across our differences to find our common humanity, and few plays do this better than Romeo and Juliet," says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. "Although written over 400 years ago, it's a story that remains incredibly pertinent today and one that, I think, matters so much to young people. It speaks to them; it speaks to their experience of the world. I'm thrilled to have Tim back to open our 2013 season with this beautifully imagined interpretation of Shakespeare's classic play."

For more information, visit http://www.stratfordfestival.ca

Photo Credit: Don Dixon

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