Wayne Best as Friar Laurence in
Romeo and Juliet.
Photo: Cylla von Tiedemann

Falling headlong in love, two teenagers defy the long-simmering hatred between their families. But daring to love one’s enemy comes with a terrible cost, as the needless sacrifice of young lives brings this heartbreaking story to its tragic conclusion.

The animosity between two families of Verona, the Montagues and the Capulets, has recently boiled over, with members of the rival households brawling in the streets. One night, Romeo, a Montague, crashes a party given by the Capulets in order to meet up with a young woman called Rosaline, with whom he is infatuated. Thoughts of her vanish from his mind, however, when he catches sight of Juliet, daughter of the head of the Capulet household. Juliet is equally smitten with Romeo – but her father already has other plans for her.

www.stratfordfestival.ca

The Stratford Festival has been a shining star of Canadian theatre since July 13, 1953, when Alec Guinness, in the title role of Richard III, emoted the lines, “Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York”.