Rebel Heart the performances would have to be postponed – to when we did not know . It was the strangest sense of anti-climax I have ever felt . The strong bond a company forms and sense of reaching the culmination of months of hard work was suddenly taken from us . We also had to abandon the Sackville Theatre just as it had been transformed into a Verona piazza by Zoe Grant and Rob Cobuz . The dressing rooms contained Sara Baruffaldi ’ s outlandish punk-Elizabethan costumes , hanging expectantly on rails , along with pre-set props concealed in corridors and corners . Popping back into the theatre weeks later , I found it quite eerie .
The Lower Sixth play had begun as Sharman Macdonald ’ s After Juliet , a sequel set in the immediate aftermath of the star-crossed lovers ’ deaths . A fragile peace holds but the feud still bubbles away under the surface and Juliet and Romeo now cast a shadow over everyone ’ s lives .
After the workshop-audition process , the project grew to combine both plays in an immersive promenade performance based on a flashback , beginning at the moment Juliet is about to drink the sleeping potion given her by the Friar . Juliet ‘ remembering ’ the events of the 48 hours since she first met Romeo guided our edit of Shakespeare ’ s play . When we reached the ‘ present ’ ( Juliet waking in the tomb ), the flashback was taken over by the characters of After Juliet , looking back at the events with new insight in a vain attempt to break free .
‘ Farewell ! God knows when we shall meet again .’ ( Romeo and Juliet , Act 4 Scene iii )
When we began work on the Lower Sixth play in September 2019 , little did we know , come the production week , that the lines which inspired the concept for Rebel Heart would turn out so prophetic .
We had just completed plotting the last few lighting cues for the tech rehearsal when news broke that
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the project was the creative freedom of the nearly 30 actors to explore their characters and shape the script , but also how to use the space for a promenade performance involving the spectators in the action . When you take away the conventional actor-audience relationship you are left with a playground to explore . This is certainly something the entire company – actors and production team – relished .
Sadly , as the weeks went on , we had to accept that a live performance would not be possible . We were left with memories of an extraordinary process but were not finished yet ...
Gavin Henry
52 PERFORMING ARTS