Cast announced for Wiltshire Creative production of Romeo and Juliet

Marking the 50th anniversary of its opening, Salisbury Playhouse will be transformed into the Capulet Mansion for a dynamic and ambitious new staging of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at Salisbury International Festival 2026.

Performed by a professional cast of ten alongside Stage 65 Youth Theatre and 100 community participants, Romeo and Juliet invites audiences to step inside the world of the play. Wearing headphones and guided backstage, indoors and outdoors throughout the Playhouse, they will encounter the fully reimagined world of the battleground between the Capulets and Montagues. An array of vehicles, parkour sequences and a commissioned soundtrack heighten the gritty action, amplifying the production’s scale and intensity. Will Fletcher (Dear England) is announced as playing Romeo, and Grace Wylde (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, TINA – The Tina Turner Musical) is Juliet. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is presented by Wiltshire Creative as the centrepiece of Salisbury International Festival 2026.

2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Salisbury Playhouse, which was built in 1976. As one of only three producing theatres in Southwest England with its own on-site workshop and wardrobe facilities, the 50-year-old venue plays a vital role in the UK’s theatre ecology. This staging of Romeo and Juliet showcases the building and the Playhouse’s producing capabilities as a 50th anniversary celebration.  

Salisbury Playhouse’s major reimagining of Romeo and Juliet juxtaposes a 400-year-old tragedy into a 50-year-old Brutalist, urban setting, re-framing the play for a 21st-century audience. It recreates the theatre foyer as the opulent Capulet ballroom, Salisbury’s central car park becomes a gritty youth hangout, and an extended stage in the theatre will host Juliet’s teenage bedroom. Audiences of 300 will follow the story as it unfolds across these spaces, moving through backstage areas and parts of the building rarely, if ever, seen by the public. The production foregrounds the Playhouse’s Brutalist architecture, exploring and celebrating its 1970s design and inviting audiences to experience the theatre in unexpected ways.

The production also shines a spotlight on the venue’s environs, opening up the space in front of the Playhouse and City Hall as a shared civic arena. The functional roundabout is reimagined as a symbol of unity through a sculptural intervention as part of the set, while the building’s front balcony becomes Juliet’s.

Cast announced with Will Fletcher (Dear England) as Romeo, Grace Wylde (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, TINA – The Tina Turner Musical) as Juliet, Patric Fusco as Paris, Shaniya Hira as Tybalt, Benjamin Lafayette (Stranger Things: The First Shadow) as Benvolio and Mark Springer (Henry V, Macbeth) as Lord Capulet.

Returning to Salisbury Playhouse (Wiltshire Creative Productions) is Rebecca Cooper (A Chorus of Disapproval, How the Other Half Loves, Her Naked Skin) as the Nurse/Prince, Alistair Cope (Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense) as Friar Laurence, Will Jennings (Dick Whittington) as Mercutio and Emilia Williams (Aladdin) as Lady Capulet.

For the Playhouse team, it was vital that young voices were, and continue to be, at the heart of the creative and design process and bring their own ideas musically and choreographically. Young Ambassadors have been included, working with the in-house teams and external agencies. Young people will be performing at the heart of the production, with up to 70 young people making up the Montague and Capulet youths.  

Gareth Machin, Artistic Director, Wiltshire Creative, said: “Working with the Young Ambassadors, we became acutely aware that they are living in a time where young people’s lives, across the world, are being impacted by conflict, which is at the heart of this story.

"Young people reclaiming spaces within the city is an important story because Salisbury is a city that is often perceived to have very little for young people and a place where older people’s needs are prioritised. A story about generational conflict feels pertinent, and our version of Romeo and Juliet reflects this, with the actions of the young people within the play offering some form of hope for the future and challenging the inevitability of situations.

"Hopefully, this production will both create opportunities for young people and also inspire future possibilities - we know how transformative these experiences can be for local people.”

Highlighting the new talent of the South West, the designer Zoe Squire, composer Alex Heane, choreographer Hatti Dawson, lighting designer Sarah Bath and flight director Dani Mac are all South West creatives. A cinematic audio experience immerses the audience in the action, surrounding them from different distances and angles.  

Salisbury International Festival will expand across the city with a curated selection of over twenty outstanding artists and companies. Performances will take place at Salisbury Arts Centre and Playhouse, Salisbury Cathedral, Rack Close and St Thomas’ Church. 

Gareth Machin, Artistic Director, Wiltshire Creative, said: “We want to create work for Salisbury International Festival that connects directly with our city, and that can only be seen here in Salisbury.

"Part of that uniqueness is our local community and the distinctive voice they bring to the offer. Creating world-class participatory opportunities is also part of our wider mission, enabled by our year-round offer and strong community links. Local ownership of flagship projects like this is vital.”

Wiltshire Creative has been awarded £3 million from Arts Council England to support the transformation of Salisbury Playhouse. Planned works will improve accessibility, reduce energy use, and restore essential infrastructure to enable the 50-year-old venue to deliver bold and ambitious work for many more years to come.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is at Salisbury Playhouse from Sunday, 24 May. Salisbury International Festival takes place between Sunday 24 May and Saturday 27 June 2026. To find out more, visit wiltshirecreative.co.uk/whats-on