Matthew Bourne’s pioneering dance company New Adventures has cast six young dancers from the North East in its world premiere production of Romeo and Juliet which will appear at Newcastle Theatre Royal 9 – 12 October 2019.
Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet is a passionate and contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare’s classic love story. Bursting with youth, vitality and Matthew Bourne’s trademark storytelling, Britain’s brightest young dance talent join the New Adventures company for this World Premiere production.
As part of New Adventures’ ambition to support the next generation of on-stage talent the Romeo and Juliet UK tour will feature the finest emerging male and female dancers from each UK region. The search began in April 2018 with a call-out for young dancers currently in training aged between 16 and 19. Attracting over 1000 applications and following a UK-wide audition tour, local Young Cast members will perform at each venue alongside the New Adventures company.
During the show’s run at Newcastle Theatre Royal, the six Young Cast members will include: Louis Baxter from Bishop Auckland, Sam Curruthers from Whitley Bay, Kayleigh Oborka-Letman from Germany but now living in Newcastle, Lisa Robinson from Durham, Andrew Scott from Sunderland and Chloe Shutt from Darlington.
The title roles of ‘Romeo’ and ‘Juliet’ will be played by six New Adventures rising stars and two exciting new dancers making their professional debuts.
Creating the role of Juliet will be Cordelia Braithwaite, currently performing as ‘Cinderella’ on the international tour; Seren Williams, who joined New Adventures in 2016 with Matthew Bourne’s award-winning production of The Red Shoes and Bryony Harrison who is making her debut with New Adventures on tour with Matthew Bourne’s legendary production of Swan Lake.
The role of Romeo will be created by Andrew Monaghan, currently ‘The Pilot’ in Cinderella, Paris Fitzpatrick who is playing the ‘Angel’ in Cinderella and João Carolino who joined the company in 2017 with Early Adventures.
Making their professional debuts with the company are Harrison Dowzell, as ‘Romeo’, who auditioned for the Young Cast in Nottingham, and Bryony Wood, as ‘Juliet’, discovered during the Young Cast auditions in Southampton. Both are in their graduate years at Performers College and Tring Park School for the Performing Arts respectively.
They are joined by leading New Adventures artists, Madelaine Brennan, Daisy May Kemp, Danny Reubens and Daniel Wright who will create the ‘adult’ world of Romeo and Juliet.
Ben Brown, Reece Causton, Jackson Fisch, Kate Lyons, Stephen Murray and Mark Samaras will come to this production direct from our USA Tour of Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella.
New Adventures is committed to finding and developing diverse young talent from across the UK. Since Lord of the Flies in 2014 New Adventures has been supporting young dancers from this production on their journey into training and professional work. The company have delivered various initiatives, including ‘Swan School’, two week-long intensives designed to prepare graduate level dancers for the audition process.
Romeo And Juliet is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, collaborating with his entire New Adventures Associate Artistic team; Etta Murfitt, Associate Artistic Director, set and costume design by Lez Brotherston; lighting by Paule Constable; sound by Paul Groothuis; and new orchestrations of the Prokofiev score by Terry Davies, played live at every venue by The New Adventures Orchestra conducted by Brett Morris.
Romeo and Juliet is at Newcastle Theatre Royal for four nights only between Wed 9 and Sat 12 Oct 2019 playing evenings at 7.30pm and matinees on Weds & Thurs at 2pm and Sat at 2.30pm. Early booking is advisable. Tickets from £17.50 can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 (Calls cost 7ppm plus your phone company’s access charge) or book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk