Timeless tragedy of Romeo and Juliet being brought to life in the Peak District

With opening night on July 9, the amateur theatre group Chatsworth Players are inviting audiences to enjoy their open-air production of Romeo and Juliet. Sean Day and Tess Edmonds take on the titular roles, playing the star-crossed lovers, whose forbidden romance lies at the heart of the tragedy.

The renowned Shakespearean play was first published in 1597, yet remains a timeless classic to this day. Centuries later, the play is still frequently reimagined and performed to modern audiences, and now Chatsworth Players are bringing their interpretation of the tragedy to the Peak District.

The group was established in 2007 by Sylvia Jackson and has been producing theatre for almost twenty years. Lindsay Jackson, committee chair and one of Chatworth Players’ founding members, spoke about how the group developed over this time: “We’ve got a lot bigger; we’re doing a lot more.”

“We’ve won awards in recent years for what we do, which is really nice. Last year, we became a charity.” Additionally, for each production, Chatsworth Players typically choose to raise money for a charity that fits each play.

“For this play we’re hoping to raise money for Chesterfield Samaritans”, said Lindsay.

The Players are committed to ensuring their theatre is accessible to all. “Our charitable aims are to give local people the chance to get involved in quality theatre”, said Lindsay, “To provide quality theatre at a low price, so that people can come and watch, to have low barriers to entry for people who want to get involved, so no fees, no membership fees, and to raise money for charity”.

Romeo and Juliet isn’t their only production taking place this year. “Originally, the plan was to do two shows a year, but now we do four”, said Lindsay.

Earlier this year, they performed Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Following this production, the group are also performing Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads in August, and Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls in October – appropriate choices for the theatre group, which aims to “always tackle challenging or classical stuff.”

It is not unusual that the group chose to perform Romeo and Juliet this summer. “We tend to do a Shakespeare in the summer outdoors”, said Lindsay, “Because that’s what Shakespeare wrote for. All of his productions were performed outdoors.”

There will be 8 performances of the play from July 9 to July 18, taking place across Ashbourne, Cromford, Eyam, Sheffield, Over Haddon and Chatsworth.

Performance times vary, with most performances starting at 7pm, and 2 that start at 2pm. Tickets for their upcoming production are £15 plus an additional booking fee of £1 and are still available via: https://chatsworthplayers.com/tickets