A Warwick theatre is set to open its 2026 season at with a bold new production of Shakespeare's ageless love story, Romeo & Juliet. 

Playbox Theatre at The Dream Factory, Warwick, is set to launch its 40th anniversary year, with Founding Director Mary King's revisiting of the story of two young people in the first flower of youth, caught in a world of conflict, parental control, and catastrophic misunderstanding. 

Staged in a new traverse format — which will be retained across the season — the production places audiences at the heart of a contemporary Verona.

The action unfolds in a single shared space, creating an intense, close-up experience that brings the tragedy into sharp and immediate focus. 

Sophie Rhodes (16) and Sam Almond (17) play the teenage lovers, Romeo and Juliet, in a company cast aged appropriately for the story. 

Mary King said: "Playbox has staged Romeo & Juliet several times over the years, including productions in Japan and at the Edinburgh Festival, but this will be my first time directing the play.  

"Sudden, simple, and devastating — everything happens over just a few days. We are in Verona, in summer, in the heat. Tempers rise and emotions explode. It is today. 

"The challenge with this play is to tell the story honestly, and as if for the very first time." 

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Playbox Theatre invites audiences to return to Verona this Valentine season and to consider who — if anyone — should take responsibility for the tragic events that unfold over the play's relentless two-hour journey. 

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Tickets are available from £10 per person.