The Tempest 2021 | Sport For Jove

directed by damien ryan

“Thou can’st not speak of that thou dost not feel...”

It takes a village to kill a child.

A brand new production of this incredible play for young audiences from Artistic Director, Damien Ryan. The existential crisis facing our world today has triggered a deafening chorus of ‘How dare you!’, screamed from the heart of our planet’s youth. And it’s not just about climate issues. What can children teach us in their struggle to be heard?

Sport for Jove’s furiously energetic new production of Romeo & Juliet is characterised by a true vision of today’s youth - the rarely seen innovation of actual teenagers playing the play’s children – Juliet, Romeo, Paris, Mercutio, Benvolio, Balthazar - surrounded by an extraordinary cast of experienced players, gives this production an authenticity and honest rawness, danger and the genuine awkwardness of youth.

Our production takes on the spirit of a filthy Italian opera, driven by love and heat, fights and fevers of the mind, and of course, by Shakespeare’s soaring poetry. We are carried to backcountry Verona, a profoundly insular town, trapped in cycles of tradition and vendetta, staring out at the future with moral pollution at its heart. Only its children’s courage to express themselves will bring change. With the mad blood stirring, two young lovers meet and set in motion the most iconic love story of all time, that of Juliet and her Romeo.

A thrilling introduction to Shakespeare for young audiences and such an important work for students to experience live.