A performer in a purple tracksuit leans from an elevated frame marked “CAPULET,” addressing someone below amid blue haze, spotlights, and neon house signs.

Polka Theatre, Adventure Theatre2024

Romeo and Juliet

The Production

Polka Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet, made with Beats & Elements, reimagined Shakespeare for young audiences through rap, rhythms, beatboxing and live musical performance. Set around contemporary South London and Merton, the production reframed the story as a high-energy hip-hop adaptation for ages 9–12+.

36 photographs in the curated edit

Director: Conrad Murray, Lakeisha Lynch-Stevens
Movement Director: Jonzi D, Simeon Qsyea
Lighting Design: Jonathan Chan
Set & Costume Design: Erin C. Guan
Sound Design: Simon Beyer
Commissioned by: Polka Theatre
Photography: Steve Gregson

A performer in sunglasses and a vivid orange fur coat stands on a silver plinth between wheeled scenic panels, with “Montague” and “Capulet” neon signs behind.

A performer in a purple tracksuit stands tensely beneath glowing “Montague” and “CAPULET” signs on a dark, neon-lit stage.

Two performers lunge toward each other in a stylised confrontation while another stands on a central plinth, with a musician at the side and bright overhead beams.

Two performers stand very close, one in a pale jacket with a green ruff and one in a purple tracksuit, framed by “Montague” and “CAPULET” neon signs.

A performer in a purple tracksuit leans over a rooftop-like frame beneath vertical red and blue light bars, hand raised to their forehead.

A musician in a purple jacket and cap plays a sticker-covered acoustic guitar while singing into a handheld microphone in low stage light.

A lone performer stands on a small plinth before a symmetrical set of wheeled panels and glowing “Montague” and “CAPULET” signs under hazy spotlights.

A performer in a white shirt with a large green ruff leans forward, cupping one hand to their ear as if listening in the dark.

A performer in a purple tracksuit places a hand on a guitarist’s shoulder as he holds a sticker-covered guitar beneath the blue “CAPULET” sign.

A performer lies arched backward across a low metal box in a blue spotlight, with neon Montague and Capulet signage glowing on the house-like set behind.

A performer in sunglasses, a grey beret, white shirt, and bright orange faux-fur vest holds both hands out while speaking into a headset mic.

Under blue-white stage lights, three performers face off around a low metal box, with one leaning back dramatically and another standing ready with a guitar.

A performer in a purple jacket and cap stands with a sticker-covered guitar before a neon-lit set marked Montague and Capulet.

Two performers wearing headset mics hold hands and gaze at each other closely in front of the glowing Montague and Capulet set.

In blue haze and side light, two performers watch as another crouches low at the stage edge near a bright floor beam, with Capulet signage behind.

A performer in a purple tracksuit cups both hands behind their ears with a wide, animated expression, wearing a headset mic.

A performer in a white shirt with a green ruff wraps an arm around a smiling performer in a purple tracksuit beneath the blue Capulet neon sign.

Four performers stand across the stage under pink and blue vertical lights, with the two at center holding hands and a guitarist at right.

A lone performer in a white shirt and green ruff sits on a low metal box in a narrow overhead spotlight, surrounded by darkness.

A performer in a cap and purple jacket sings into a headset while gesturing with one hand and holding a sticker-covered guitar beneath a blue “CAPULET” neon sign.

On a brightly lit stage, one performer stands on a metal plinth with arms outstretched while a guitarist plays nearby among wheeled set panels and neon “Montague” and “CAPULET” signs.

Two performers sit closely in warm light against a black background, one in a white shirt with a green ruff wrapping their arms around another in a purple tracksuit.

A wide, dim stage view shows a lone performer standing under angled spotlights before wheeled house-front set pieces, with another figure barely visible in shadow at far right.

A performer in a white shirt with a large green ruff gestures while speaking into a headset beneath a red “Montague” neon sign.

A tense performer in a purple tracksuit is held between two performers in loose white shirts, with the “CAPULET” set dimly visible behind them.

In warm side light, a smiling performer in a white shirt and green ruff embraces a seated performer in a purple tracksuit, with red “Montague” and blue “CAPULET” neon signs behind them.

Three performers are spread across the stage under vertical blue lights, with a guitarist at center and neon “Montague” and “CAPULET” signs on wheeled set pieces behind them.

A performer in a purple tracksuit stands alone with a strained expression, lit sharply against shadowed set panels and a faint “CAPULET” sign.

Beneath a red “Montague” neon sign, a seated performer in a green ruff raises both hands while another performer in a hat and vest stands beside them.

A performer in a navy tracksuit leans over a balcony rail above a glowing blue “CAPULET” sign, lit by cool blue stage light.

Four performers strike lively poses across the stage in front of neon “Montague” and “CAPULET” house frames, with bright vertical light bars overhead.

A performer in a white ruffled shirt with green collar and cuffs sings into a headset microphone, one hand reaching forward in a close-up spotlight.

A performer stands centre stage with hands behind their head between neon “Montague” and “CAPULET” signs, while another watches from the side in dim blue light.

Two performers in loose white shirts with green ruffs gesture animatedly beneath a glowing pink “Montague” sign.

A performer leans from a balcony above a blue “CAPULET” sign as three others below look up, one holding a decorated guitar under vivid blue and pink stage lights.

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