Press/Reviews for Shakespeare by the Sea!
This year’s Shakespeare offering, directed by Douris-O’Hara, hasn’t been seen on the SBTS stage for almost twenty years.
“We’ve had Romeo and Juliet circled for our 30th anniversary season for quite some time now,” says Douris-O’Hara. “It’s perhaps Shakespeare’s most enduring and relevant play that has permeated all sort of areas of culture unlike any other story told. What excites me is the opportunity to introduce many new theatregoers to Romeo and Juliet… It is a story you may think you know, but if you have yet to see it live, it really rocks your world. It’s sometimes like watching a train wreck you know will happen and hoping you can change the ending.”
Playing Juliet for the first time since she was in high school, Jade Douris-O’Hara is excited to return to the role. SBTS newcomer Patrick Jeffrey joins Jade as Romeo.
“This is his first season here, and he is an actor we’ve been really excited about for years, and we’re just over the moon that he’s coming out to play in the park with us for the summer,” says Douris O’Hara.
From the halifaxpresents.com Article: Lies and love: Shakespeare by the Sea celebrates 30 years with Pinocchio & Romeo and Juliet
The Coast Season Launch: Shakespeare By The Sea announces 30th summer season
Pinocchio Reviews
NS Reviews : HALIFAX AND ANTIGONISH: A TALE OF TWO FAIRYTALES
“It’s the strength of the performances from this eclectic bunch of performers, who also double as musicians, that really makes this show a delight for everyone.”
TWISI Review: Rollicking Pinocchio is Real Poplar at Shakespeare By the Sea
Romeo and Juliet Reviews
“Romeo and Juliet are not played by real teenagers, which makes it even more impressive how thoroughly you believe that Patrick Jeffrey and Jade Douris-O’Hara are about fifteen and seventeen years old in these parts. Jeffrey’s Romeo has two speeds, he either meanders sheepishly like he isn’t sure where he’s going or what he wants to do, or he runs as fast as he possibly can. As poetic as Shakespeare’s language is, often when Jeffrey muses as Romeo you can hear the teenager rambling, making everything up as he goes along, amusing himself with his own charm, and building the crush up, as teenagers do, until it is as wide and all encompassing as the sky.”
TWISI Review: Shakespeare By the Sea Gives us a Romeo & Juliet for Our Time
“Director Drew O’Hara’s 90-minute version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is remarkably clear, full of life and a fun balance of light and dark, comedy and tragedy… [Jade] Douris O’Hara captures her vitality and the beauty of her language, as does Patrick Jeffrey as Romeo, a sensitive, boyish teen who matures through his discovery of love. The attraction between the two, who meet at a masquerade with a DJ and fun dancing, is very convincing.”
NS Reviews: Romeo and Juliet at Point Pleasant Park Full of Teen Spirit