After summer productions of last year’s The Tempest in Venice and Prague, Naked Shakes returns to UCSB with a new production of Romeo and Juliet. Directed by program runner Irwin Appel, the R+J ran several opening performances in UCSB’s Theatre and Dance courtyard. Naked Shakes will take the production to Elings Park September 10–12 to provide shoulder-season Santa Barbara with its very own Shakespeare in the park.
Naked Shakes brings the work of The Bard to the stage with a style that mostly abandons exaggerated sets and costuming. Instead, they aim to use physicality and language to tell the story, even when the centuries-old English feels foreign. “There’s a certain expectation with Shakespeare that people will feel like it’s not for them,” says Appel.
“With Romeo and Juliet, you have a play that everyone encountered in middle school or high school, and probably most people do not have good associations with it. I love the challenge in a Naked Shakes production of appealing to new audiences and having them realize that they can have ownership in this material, and that this material can speak to them.”
This Romeo and Juliet is a hurricane of romance and gang violence that leans into the youthful energy of the main characters. Hordes of Montagues (and affiliates) run headlong into fray after fray with an army of Capulets (and affiliates), offering a series of athletic brawls. The romance portrays the giddiness and unhinged nature of many a teen love story. Naked Shakes’ production also includes live accompaniment with original music by student Alina Ashby.
Romeo and Juliet runs at Elings Park September 10–12 and returns to the UCSB campus for shows October 16–18 (which aligns with this year’s upcoming All Gaucho’s reunion) and October 23–25.
