Shakespeare By The Sea Festival

Chris Tobin (Abraham), Susan Kelsey (Lady of the House of Montague),
Ken Butler (Balthazar), Natalia Hennelly (Benvolia), Bruce Brenton (Mercutio)

 







Victoria Wells-Smith (Juliet) & Justin Madol (Romeo)



Susan Kelsey (Lady of the House of Montague), Dave Walsh (Capulet)
Naomi Russell (Fiddler), Jill Kennedy (Lady of the House of Capulet),
Anthony Fushell (Sampson)   



Tonya Kearley (Nurse) & Tim Foss (Friar Laurence)

CAST

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Anthony Fushell - Sampson
Brian Hurley - Gregory
Bruce Brenton - Mercutio / Montague
Chris Tobin - Abraham
Dave Walsh - Capulet
Heidi Coombs-Thorne - Lady Capulet
Janet Edmonds - Tybalt
Jill Kennedy/Kelly Jones - Lady Montague
John Battcock - Prince
Justin Madol - Romeo
Ken Butler - Balthazar
Laura Squires - Lady of the house of Capulet
Mark Norberg - Paris
Naomi Russell - Fiddler / Chorus
Natalia    Hennelly - Benvolia
Susan Kelsey - Lady of the house of Montague
Tim Foss - Friar Laurence
Tonya Kearley - Nurse
Victoria Wells-Smith - Juliet
Zack Moore - Peter

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Directed by Jennifer Deon
Stage Managed by Kirsti Mikoda
Costume Design by Jennifer King
Fight Choreography by Dave Walsh
Dance Choreography by Tonya Kearley

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Music used in the show:
Bridgett’s Reel - Emile Benoit
Jim Hodder’s Reel - Emile Benoit
She Said She Couldn’t Dance / Thread The Needle - Newfoundland traditional
Waltz In The House - Emile Benoit

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Director’s Notes

Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

Our Verona is contemporary St. John’s – a capital city that thrives and throbs, yet retains a cultural distinctiveness.  We have chosen traditional music to score the show that flows naturally with the dramatic lyricism of the text, and you will hear the lilt of our traditional dialects from some of the characters.  No surprise that many scholars have remarked on the similarity of cadence between Newfoundland vernacular and Shakespeare’s language.

Our two households are both alike in dignity – and wealth.  Look to your right and see the accustomed wealth of the Capulet household. Theirs are the tall-masted yachts moored at the end of the park, their historic homes (built over a hundred years ago from the wealth of their fish merchant trade) lie just up the hill on Circular Road, and it is their Mercedes you passed on the way down tonight.

Look to your left and see where the wealth of the Montagues has arisen – the business of offshore oil and all of its opportunities have provided recent generations of Montagues with their hard-won lifestyle.  Their homes (located no doubt in the East End of St. John’s) are newer, larger, flashier – and don’t be surprised to see a Hummer parked in their driveway.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;

Who knows what or who started the war between these two families?  It doesn’t matter.  Both Romeo and Juliet are fish-out-of-water in this war and in their own families.  This all simply serves as the backdrop against which the story of their love must play out for your enjoyment this evening.