Romeo & Juliet: Westford Academy

Our production is set in Belfast Ireland in the mid 1980's.  Although different from the original setting of medieval Verona, our concept puts family grudge in the context of the strife between Catholic and Protestant forces in Belfast. Two families alike in dignity and the level of hatred they have for each other, occupying the same city. The children of these two rival families ,Romeo and Juliet, are like many of us who were young in the 1980's. They are more interested in music and love than the crimes of their fathers. During this time in Belfast there was much violence and often innocent people were caught in the middle. The music of U2, The Pogues and other upstart Irish bands told the story of a generation caught between their hearts, the glimpses of the world as seen through MTV and the grudges and responsibilities of the older generation. Although the central themes of this play are eternal---( love and innocence sacrificed to the terror, violence and hatred of others)... we need not look far from home to see the horrors of such unbridled and misguided hatred.  As artists and thinkers we must do our best to interpret our world in the ways we can for ourselves and for those around us. Through the language of Shakespeare, music and Irish dancing, images of actual political graffiti from Belfast... our actors tell a sad but preventable story of love and loss.  Our play asks how long we will need to see events like these happen, stories like this one be told, until we ultimately can learn to sacrifice our hate, and our fears to prevent tragedy.            

A glooming peace this morning with

            it brings:

            The sun for sorrow will not show

            his head.

            Go hence, to have more talk of

            these sad things.

            Some shall be pardoned, and some

            punished,

            For never was a story of more woe

            Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.