Juliet & Romeo is a duet that imagines what might have happened if the titular characters had not died in the vaults but had lived and grown into ordinary middle age together.
It’s brought to life by Lost Dog, an award-winning dance/theatre company based in rural East Sussex and led by director/choreographer Ben Duke. Their storytelling comprises a unique blend of dance, theatre and comedy to great effect.
‘It’s not often you’re doubled over with laughter and wiping away tears of sadness during the same show. Given the components that come together in Juliet & Romeo, however, it’s no surprise. *****’ The Scotsman
Laura Lloyd, Sales and Marketing Manager at The Mill Arts Centre, sits down with Ben to find out more about the show coming to Banbury this March.
Tell us about the idea behind this piece?
I first saw Romeo and Juliet when I was a teenager. It was an RSC production. I knew as the show began that in about two hours, they would be dead, so I was reluctant to care about them. As the audience we had to witness just how close they sailed to staying alive, and I found that almost unbearable.
So this piece came from a long-standing dislike of death and a dawning realisation that in my job, I was perfectly placed to re-write this moment that had frustrated me for so long. Initially it was exhilarating, anything was possible, where would they go, how would they live?
And then gradually things got harder. The problem with cheating death is that then you have to carry on living.
So, do they have a happy life?
Romeo is in the middle of a mid-life crisis and so his character is trying to re-shape itself. He is trying to let go of the passionate, over the top teenager he was and become a Man. But he doesn’t have any clear idea what that Man should look like, so he is in limbo.
Juliet is very attached to the extraordinary teenager she was and is finding the ordinariness of her current life a struggle.
Basically, if you had them round for dinner you would probably find them a little self-obsessed.
What do you hope audiences will take away with them?
A feeling that we aren’t that honest about relationships in our culture and that too many stories focus on how relationships start rather than how they continue.
I hope audiences take away a sense of realistic optimism about the state of their relationships – past, present or future.
Juliet & Romeo will be live on stage on Tuesday, 10th March 2026 and tickets are available to book now. Visit our website or pick up our What’s On Guide to discover what’s on at your local theatre!
Full details of our programme are available at www.themillartscentre.co.uk. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone 01295 279002 – or pop into our Box Office in person at The Mill Arts Centre, Spiceball Park Road, Banbury OX16 5QE. The Mill is open 9:30am-4:30pm Monday-Saturday with hot and cold drinks and light refreshments available from the Café Bar.
