Shakespeare festival heads to Springfield
Look out Springfield; the Montagues and Capulets are on their way!
With the Toowoomba and Fraser Coast legs of the University of Southern Queensland's Shakespeare in the Park Festival complete, the tour now heads south for its inaugural Springfield season.
Springfield audiences will be treated to an open-air performance of Shakespeare's timeless tale of two young lovers caught up in a bitter family feud; Romeo, a Montague and Juliet, a Capulet.
Romeo and Juliet, directed by Scott Alderdice and with spectacular set and costume designs by Carolyn Taylor-Smith, features an exciting line-up of emerging actors.
Already, more than 7,000 people have seen the show; with 5,000 people attending the Toowoomba season in Queens Park and close to 2,000 visiting the balmy Seafront Oval at Hervey Bay to see the production.
Festival organisers have received fantastic reviews from Toowoomba and Fraser Coast audiences of all ages.
Boonah State High School teacher, Roxane Scott said the show was energetic, innovative and full of energy with great sets and some standout performances.
'Our kids really enjoyed the show. There is nothing like live theatre to inspire students and give them understanding as the text comes alive,' Ms Scott said.
'Students were engaged and still talking about the costumes and set days later.'
A Fraser Coast reviewer noted the production's ‘starkly simple yet flexible set', great lighting effects, sumptuous costumes, musical soundtrack and terrific actors'.
They made particular mention of Christopher Hunter and Kate Murphy in their lead roles, saying ‘the balcony scene was a treat, and Kate brought tears to our eyes in the finale'.
Coralie Graham of Toowoomba said her family and friends attended a Toowoomba performance and were all very impressed by the show.
'The actors have done an amazing job in recreating a contemporary version of the ageless Shakespearian drama. The costumes were brilliant and it all ran with polished precision!' Coralie said.
Romeo & Juliet will be performed on Thursday (March 27), Friday (March 28) and Saturday (March 29) at 7pm on the Education City Mini Oval at the USQ Springfield campus.
Tickets are $25 adult, $20 concession, $10 child and $65 family and can be purchased through the Ipswich Civic Hall Box Office on 07 3810 6100, online at www.ipswichcivichall.com.au or at the gate each night from 6pm.
Audiences are invited to enjoy a picnic dinner in the Festival arena before the show. The site is fully licensed, so they can pack a picnic, a bottle of wine, a chair or blanket to sit on and settle in for an unforgettable night of theatre under the stars.
For more information visit the Festival website www.usq.edu.au/shakespeare.
The USQ Shakespeare in the Park Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of its 2008 sponsors: Toowoomba Chronicle, WIN Television, Symphony Hill Wines, Toowoomba City Council, Hervey Bay City Council, the Fraser Coast Chronicle, Queensland Events, the Queensland Times, Dornbusch Partners, Channel 7- Queensland, Bell Dixon Butler Lawyers, Education City, Civil Mining & Construction Pty Ltd, Cardno, La Mer Luxury Apartments, USQ Faculty of Education and the Myer Foundation.
Media Contact: Jo-Ann Sparrow, USQ Media, +61 7 3470 4119 or 0428 102 979