Shakespeare's classic love story Romeo And Juliet arrives at The Oxford Playhouse this month.

Reporter Jeremy Stern spoke to Adam Croasdell, who plays the lead role.

By Jeremy Stern

Making Shakespeare relevant in today's theatre is not easy.

What was once cutting edge theatre is for many now synonymous with exams and ancient dialogue that's hard to understand.

But Adam Croasdell reckons this month's production of Romeo & Juliet will breakdown the barriers and reinvigorate the script.

"Children in school sometimes only see Shakespeare in books and that's a shame. It really has to be got up on its feet.

"Our production is compelling and very fast moving. There's some great action scenes and the emphasis has been on placing clarity into and onto the lines," he said.

The production is based in post-War Verona with costumes to match. Adam reckons the Italian factor adds spice to the occasion.

"And more importantly it's set in the shadow of a lot of violence. That comes through in the vendetta between the two families who've seen a lot of violence and are at odds with eachother."

The lead role of Romeo is one of the most famous in theatrical history and recently it's been played by Leonardo Di Caprio in Baz Luhrmann's version of the movie.

Adam, though, is unfazed at taking on the challenge and reckons that by looking deep into the script it's still possible to make the part fresh.

"The verse is so very rich and layered and there are clues to the nature of the character in the text. You can make it fresh everytime it's done."

*For ticket information about Romeo & Juliet visit the Playhouse website (link is above).