The Bowler Crab theatre company is to perform Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the Mermaid Inn as part of Rye Bay Scallop Week on Sunday March 4.
It will be the company’s third “pocket production” – shortened versions of Shakespeare’s plays. Part general entertainment by professional actors and part open discussion with Shakespearean experts, this shortened piece combines a talk about Shakespeare’s famous tragedy with performances of extracts from the play to encourage audiences to consider and, if they so wish, discuss how the text can be interpreted in different ways.
The 600-year-old Mermaid Inn is believed to have once been visited by Shakespeare’s company of actors.
Founded in 2013 by Artistic Director Stephen John (Romeo), Bowler Crab has performed 11 of the Bard’s works on tours around Sussex, Kent and London. Leanne Clark (Juliet) joined the company in 2015 and has since then performed as The Princess of France in Love’s Labour’s Lost (2015) and Cordelia and The Fool in King Lear (2016), also providing production work for Much Ado About Nothing and Othello (2017). A full version of Romeo and Juliet was first performed by Bowler Crab back in 2014.
In 2017, Bowler Crab formed a relationship with the Mermaid as a performance venue, following a discovery that suggests Shakespeare’s company, The Chamberlain’s Men, visited The Mermaid in 1597 – this revelation made BBC news.
The same year, Bowler Crab began touring shortened versions of their past productions to schools, festivals, private parties, corporate events and as dining experiences in the form of pocket productions.
Bowler Crab then became the official resident theatre company of the Mermaid following the sell-out performances of pocket productions of Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the autumn of 2017, Bowler Crab brought its third project to the Mermaid: Othello, a full-length performance as part of its tour around Kent, Sussex and London.
The Mermaid Inn is a unique historic building that offers a step back in time, with modern comforts in a traditional style. Bowler Crab’s Romeo and Juliet will be performed in the Tudor Room, where seating will be limited to 60. Tickets are already selling fast, so to avoid disappointment early booking is advised.
Performance starts at 2pm – arrive to be seated by 1:45pm. Tickets are £12 (£9 under 16) on sale at www.bowler-crab.com.
Source: Bowler Crab
Extract from poster: Bowler Crab