Shakespeare, plus stupid.

Shakespeare and clowning collide in this beautifully funny remix of the Bard’s most iconic tragedy.

Cirque du Cirque du Spectacular is in a shambles - a relic from the olden days of circus, when beasts roared and strong women bent iron bars. Conducted by the egotistical ringmaster Veronique, a series of increasingly absurd acts unfold: bird themed burlesque, inside-out contortion, floor aerials! Meanwhile, long-suffering assistant Stephanie stumbles upon, then falls in love with a copy of Shakespeare's Complete Works.

As the romance of the bard’s words possess them, against all the rules, these charming idiots cast themselves as Romeo and Juliet. Together they attempt to stage the greatest show on Earth, restricted only by a lack of skills, talent, knowledge and resources.

Not Romeo and Juliet is high octane theatrical anarchy and ridiculous physical comedy at its best. The perfect show for Shakespeare lovers and haters alike.

‘flawlessly executed physical comedy’ – Stage Whispers ‘you will see Romeo and Juliet in a brand-new light’ – Weekend Notes ‘the perfect performance to see if you’re in the mood for laughter’ – Pop Culture-y 'thoroughly silly... in the best possible way' - Fringe Feed 'basking in the joyous and ludicrous has never felt so good' - Gutter Culture

Venue Format
Theatre, Hall, Black Box Venue
Technical Rating
D, The production can be modified to suit most venues
Touring Party
2
Considerations

If venue is very large 2 x headset radio mics may need to be provided by the venue. If you have concerns about this please discuss with Fish and Twiner's Bait Shop.

Fish and Twiner’s Bait Shop is a Melbourne based physical theatre company founded by Lily Fish and Kimberley Twiner. We make embodied, dynamic, accessible physical theatre with clown at its heart. We are serious about stupidity!

Our first production Not Romeo and Juliet has enjoyed critical acclaim and sold out shows in Midsumma Festival, Melbourne Fringe and Perth Fringe World, as well as buy-ins at arts centres in Perth and Melbourne.

Both Lily and Kimberley are also founding members of multi-award winning queer physical comedy ensemble PO PO MO CO.

Our second show, Jofus and the Plank, will debut in Melbourne Fringe 2019 before touring in 2020.

Company Website
facebook.com/fishandtwinersbaitshop

Unique Selling Point

Not Romeo and Juliet is uplifting, affirming and completely hilarious. It is highly accessible and can be enjoyed by audiences of all ages. It's irreverence is particularly appealing to the larrikin nature of Australian audiences.

In schools, the show can offer students an introduction to Shakespearean text that is joyous and non-threatening. It demonstrates that Shakespeare is not scary, elite or precious, but rather fun and available to be messed with.

Marketing Materials

We have press releases, print marketing templates, gifs, and high quality promotional and production images.

We have an education resource pack for schools that includes pre and post-incursion/excursion activities and curriculum links. We are also able to offer workshops in school.

Community Engagement

We offer a variety of physical theatre workshops. These range from Introduction to Clown for complete beginners, to devising and performance workshops for professionals. We are both experienced teachers of young people and adults, and have worked extensively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and mixed abilities.

Workshops typically run for 3-4 hours and engage participants in kinaesthetic play based learning. Longer workshops (across a few days) could culminate in a public showing.

Our most popular workshop to be paired with Not Romeo and Juliet is Clowning 101. It is an introduction to performing in the theatrical style of Clown through games and exploration. Participants learn to tap into their own unique brand of funny.

We can also offer Physical Theatre workshops in Advanced Clown, Neutral Mask, Bouffon, and Improvised Movement.