Michael Oakley

A violent street brawl between their rival families is the prelude to Romeo’s first encounter with Juliet. Despite this, and the fact that Juliet has been promised to another man in marriage, they fall in love. But any plans for their future happiness are cruelly destroyed by renewed violence between the two families – and while the adults remain almost comically preoccupied with their own affairs, among their children a hidden tragedy begins to unfold.

It’s the swinging (16)60s, and ‘the merry monarch’ Charles II is on the throne. After violent civil war, England’s theatres have finally reopened and, for the first time, women are allowed to perform in public. In the West End, grande dame Mrs Betterton (Anna Chancellor) rules the roost. But there’s a new face in town: an orange-seller with dreams of stardom. From dressing-room camaraderie to bitter rivalry, April De Angelis’ gloriously exuberant, bawdily funny and deeply poignant play celebrates five women grabbing this newfound freedom and making their way in an unfamiliar world. But at what price?

A violent street brawl between their rival families is the prelude to Romeo’s first encounter with Juliet. Despite this, and the fact that Juliet has been promised to another man in marriage, they fall in love. But any plans for their future happiness are cruelly destroyed by renewed violence between the two families – and while the adults remain almost comically preoccupied with their own affairs, among their children a hidden tragedy begins to unfold.

It’s the swinging (16)60s, and ‘the merry monarch’ Charles II is on the throne. After violent civil war, England’s theatres have finally reopened and, for the first time, women are allowed to perform in public. In the West End, grande dame Mrs Betterton (Anna Chancellor) rules the roost. But there’s a new face in town: an orange-seller with dreams of stardom. From dressing-room camaraderie to bitter rivalry, April De Angelis’ gloriously exuberant, bawdily funny and deeply poignant play celebrates five women grabbing this newfound freedom and making their way in an unfamiliar world. But at what price?