Romeo and Juliet by Windmill Young Actors

If you have spent any time around Brighton, you probably know that our local theatre scene often pops up in unexpected places. This Thursday, June 4th, 2026, is a good example of that, as Windmill Young Actors are bringing their production of Romeo and Juliet to the Hollingdean Skatepark. It is a bit of a departure from the traditional theatre spaces we usually frequent, but it fits the company’s approach to staging Shakespeare in environments that feel a bit more grounded.

This production is a 21st-century take on the classic play. The company, led by director Tanushka Marah, has a history of working with young performers aged between 14 and 25, and they tend to weave elements like rap, poetry, and verbatim testimonies into the script. The idea here is to move away from the more formal, elite associations often attached to Shakespeare and instead present the text through a lens that feels more relevant to the experiences of the young people involved. By using the skatepark as the backdrop, the staging leans into a more urban aesthetic, which has been a consistent part of how this group approaches their work.

It is worth noting that this isn't just a one-off experiment; Windmill Young Actors have been developing this style of performance for several years. While the play itself is one of the most well-known stories in literature, the way it is being presented at Hollingdean Skatepark is designed to be accessible to a wider audience, rather than just those who typically attend theatre. If you are interested in seeing how a classic text translates when it is stripped of traditional stagecraft and placed in a public, recreational space, this is the context in which the performance is happening this week.