Romeo and Juliet becomes Romeo and Julius in Southsea Shakespeare Actors' queer makeover coming to The Groundlings Theatre

​The SSA, an amateur theatre company established in 1947, is staging an inclusive version of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.

Director Aaron Holdaway has taken the original text and cast the two young lovers as male, creating Romeo & Julius, a diverse gay romance from the pages of perhaps the most famous heterosexual love story in the world.

In a world of two feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets, young Romeo, a Montague, is heartbroken and in love with Rosaline. When his friends encourage him to gate-crash a party where Rosaline might be, he bumps into a Capulet boy called Julius, and his life is changed forever.

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This love-at-first-sight chance encounter sets the two boys on a disastrous path, as the star-crossed lovers navigate their love in a world which isn’t ready or prepared to honour it.

This adaptation utilises Shakespeare’s original text but sets the play in a contemporary, gritty, modern world and casts the two lovers as male, resulting in a layered interpretation of the masterpiece.

Aaron says: ‘I think it’s immensely important and I’m exceptionally proud of it. Representation saves lives, and I honestly believe that. When I was growing up as a young gay man, there wasn’t much representation out there, on stage and across other mainstream media, which often left me feeling isolated, alone and different, which is a dangerous place to be.

‘Things are much better now thankfully, but I still feel there could be more queer representation on the stages of Portsmouth. I hope Romeo & Julius goes some way to addressing that. If someone comes along, and feels represented, and sees themselves and some of their struggles in a play written over 420 years ago, which is almost always staged heterosexual, then that is just absolutely wonderful to me.’

‘In Romeo & Julius we’ve kept Shakespeare’s original text but I’ve worked to adapt it and edit it accordingly, and I’ve been really surprised at the relevance of some of the lines and how little reworking was actually required in places. Some of it has taken on whole new levels of meaning and interpretation that, for me, exceed other productions I’ve seen.

‘The relationship between Friar Lawrence and Romeo, for example, is incredibly powerful here, to the point where Romeo even comes out as gay to the Friar, and we get to explore that through Shakespeare’s text. It’s incredibly relevant, and exceptionally poignant.

‘And the modern, contemporary theme adds weight too – it holds up a window into our world. Conflict on the streets, knife crime, attitudes towards the LGBTQIA+ community, attitudes to women and two young boys committing suicide all feature. It’s a fascinating way to explore and look at Shakespeare, that’s for sure, and a real insight into our lives and communities, all these years later. It’s incredibly moving, and I’m incredibly proud.’

The cast include Charlie Wingrove as Romeo, Luca Falco-Pitt as Julius and Olivia Dale as Benvolia.

It is at Groundlings Theatre in Portsmouth, from Wednesday–Saturday, March 15-18. Tickets £14. Go to groundlings.co.uk.