A tragic story to play out in Te Puna

By Rebecca Mauger

SunLive·

26 Jan, 2025 10:36 PM2 mins to read

The beautiful Te Puna Quarry Park will be the backdrop for Summer Shakespeare Tauranga Trust’s Romeo and Juliet. Photo / Rebecca Mauger

The tragic saga of Romeo and Juliet has spurred on countless retellings.

In a new twist, theatre company Summer Shakespeare Tauranga Trust has chosen the opulent 1930s era as a backdrop to their portrayal of Romeo and Juliet which plays out at Te Puna Quarry Park Amphitheatre in February.

Trust founder and creative director Pascal Tibbits said the super-stylish fashion and changing attitudes of the 1930s works perfectly for the iconic Shakespearian tragedy.

“It’s said that Shakespeare was among the first feminists. He often pokes fun at how women of his time were almost owned by their fathers. In the 1930s women were becoming more empowered, they were going against the type.”

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It is one of the playwright’s most sombre plays.

Tibbets played Mercutio in the play about 30 years ago with the University of Auckland’s Summer Shakespeare. He loved the language, the triple meanings, the depth of social comment and the relevance to modern times.

Pascal also loves the chaos of the play.

“It’s not a whimsical love story, it’s a brawl, it’s a fight. The way those poor lovers try to find their way through that discord is fabulous but tragic.”

Tibbits made some of the characters women “which gives some of the bawdy jokes take a new twist”, he said.

A Shakespearean play was not about the language – it’s about the story, Tibbets said. The audience will not be stumped by complicated dialogue.

“The story has to shine through and we have done that through good directing and good acting,” Pascal says,

With wife Vikki, the Te Puna couple were the winners of My Kitchen Rules New Zealand in 2023. They have been bringing Shakespeare back into the theatrical fold for several years.

Their aim is to introduce and mentor young people to theatre and Shakespeare.

There are 22 in the cast. Juliet is played by Rain Denyer from Mount Maunganui and Oliver Spence from Pāpāmoa plays Romeo.

Gayle Spence, who played Prospero in last year’s The Tempest, directs.

Food and drink will be available at the performances.