Theatre: Romeo & Juliet

See it in Helston first! Join Illyria for their 2024 premiere performance of Romeo & Juliet this June.

The award-winning outdoor theatre company Illyria visits Helston with their premiere performance of Romeo & Juliet.

“To experience this in the open air is uniquely special.” says Artistic Director Oliver Gray. “Outdoors, with good company, good food and a glass of something bubbly is a much less formal way to enjoy theatre,” Oliver continues. “And there’s something truly unifying about actors performing, and audiences listening, all under the same sky.”

Two wealthy families, the Montagues and the Capulets, are at war. Their feud has been long and bitter. But when Romeo, Montague’s son, gatecrashes Capulet’s party in disguise, everything changes. There he meets Juliet, Capulet’s daughter, and the pair fall into an intense, forbidden love that sets in motion a chain of events leading to a devastating conclusion.

From a secret rendezvous in a moonlit garden to a fateful duel under the scorching Verona sun, Shakespeare masterfully explores the enduring power of love, revenge and fate in one of his bestloved stories. But the surprising thing about this iconic tragedy is that it’s extremely funny too!

Performed by Illyria in the great outdoors, this fastpaced, polished, beautifully spoken production has been created using only the First Folio text, the most authoritative edition of Shakespeare’s plays. Illyria first performed this terrific play more than two decades ago to critical acclaim worldwide. This summer it returns for a third time: passionate, poetic, and utterly gripping!