Director Dawn Moore tells us why we should check out
Romeo and Juliet
Written by: William Shakespeare
Directed by: Dawn Moore
Presented by: Exit 22 at Capilano University (link)
In this version of Romeo and Juliet, a young acting company opens rehearsal for the second-most-performed Shakespearean play of all time. Excitement is high, but questions abound. Who plays the old guys? I’m not wearing tights! How do we tell this story of two families with an ancient grudge? A younger generation who have forgotten the reason they kill each other? A love story that becomes deadly? The Exit 22 company answers these questions with a fiercely youthful take for a generation that is more familiar with West Side Story, Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirelli.
“When we decided to do Romeo and Juliet, I asked myself how to approach it, to make it fresh and accessible,” says Dawn Moore, who directs the piece. “And then I got interested in the question itself. So I am working on presenting multiple styles to highlight others’ choices and to explore the question of what is the best way to do R+J with a young company in a manner that can be understood by our modern audience.”
Exit 22 is the production company of Capilano University’s theatre department. It allows students in either the Acting for Stage and Screen, Musical Theatre or Technical Theatre programs to put their theory into practice in a professional setting.
Romeo + Juliet previews November 19 and opens November 20 at 8 pm, and runs nightly through until November 21. It also runs November 25 to 28.
There will be four matinees, November 24 and 25 at noon; and November 22 and 28 at 2 pm. All shows take place in the Performing Arts Theatre at Capilano University, which is located in the Birch Building, 2055 Purcell Way, in North Vancouver.
Tickets are $20/$14/$8. For more information or to purchase tickets, please phone 604.990.7810, or email boxoffice@capilanou.ca
