Let us tell you, our new co-production of Romeo and Juliet has been a long time in the making. With research and development weeks, music experimentation, outreach within the community and a whole heap of work with Belgrade Ensemble members, Theatre HUB groups, and a newly formed community choir, this production is flying the flag high for our Co-Creation vision.
A big part of the show research and music development process has been conducted alongside young people attending Coventry Academy, an alternative to mainstream education, offering a tailored and supportive environment for students aged 11 to 16.
Lyricists on Romeo and Juliet and Belgrade Springboard company That’s A Rap led an initial ten-week programme of weekly sessions at the school from Nov 2023. After its success, they then ran a second phase of weekly sessions between Apr – Jun 2024, which supported the young people to create their own original piece of rap and music video. That’s A Rap now continue to work with the school on Romeo and Juliet.
We sat down with Corey Weekes and Kieren Hamilton-Amos from That’s A Rap to find out more…
Corey Weekes and Kieren Hamilton-Amos from That’s A Rap
Why Coventry Academy?
There was already a connection happening with the Belgrade and Coventry Academy. Corey Campbell (Creative Director) had already gone into the school to do some workshops with them to start to grow his idea of Co-Creation and really put it into practice. He started to discuss
Romeo and Juliet with them and their ideas on some potential new approaches to the play to try and see it from their lens.
I think from a commercial side, we always see Romeo and Juliet as this fantastic love story, but these young people had a different view on it. They still understood the love element, but their approach to the characters was a reflection of their experiences and their reality.
For example, Tybalt is always seen as this hot-headed person that’s doing wrong and he’s a bit out of line. But, for the young people, this is the person that is protecting their family. The opposition has come to our party, of course I’m going to ride out and defend my family. So, they have a different lens on it. When you really do look at Romeo and Juliet, it’s a story for young people, about young people.
I think Coventry Academy really helped to open our eyes to that and how it feels to be that age and be in love with someone from the other side. Rather it being from the view of a 50-year-old or a 60-year-old, it’s from the point of view of the people of the same age as Romeo and Juliet. That extreme love and passion is very real at that age. This is the age that if someone doesn’t follow you on Instagram it’s a major deal, yet in our mature mind we don’t see it as anything. But for them at that age it’s huge.
What have the young people been involved in and where has it taken place?
A lot of the work we’ve done has taken place at Coventry Academy but when we had some of the initial research and development phases, the young people had the chance to come into the Belgrade. They got to give their notes on the scenes, direct the actors, and by that time they had already created some music themselves so got to go onto the B2 stage to perform some of their work to their teachers and peers. It was nice for them to see the juxtaposition of the aggressiveness but also the love story. It was really nice working with them.
They got to put their work and input into the songs that are now in Romeo and Juliet in those initial stages, so we’ve kept that advice, we’ve kept those notes, and that work has really expanded and flourished all the way through the production’s creation.
What have they created and how is it being used in Romeo and Juliet?
As well as their notes and perspective, the young people are now creating the music that’s going to be playing in the auditorium when the audience arrive. The young people are going to be the first to set the scene of the atmosphere of the whole production. They’ve created a couple of songs, they’ve made the beat, they’ve written all the lyrics, they’ve done it all themselves, and we’re all really looking forward to sharing it.
They’ve also had input into the other songs and the themes, but I think having their moment where it’s their voices, their production, their lyrics, is going to be a great opportunity for them and so empowering.
Why is this work so important and how does it fit into the Belgrade’s Co-Creation model?
To me, the young people’s perspectives are paramount for us to mould work in the way that we have done. If you don’t know the community that you serve and the community you’re trying to touch, then you’re not going to reach that goal of Co-Creation. Part of the creation is simply just their perspective.
What’s next for the group at Coventry Academy?
We’re still working with them now, their names are going to be credited as part of the creative team on Romeo and Juliet, they’ll hopefully be joining us on opening night, and through the work we’ve been doing with them, they’ve been inspired to create their own theatre production with music as a form of expression, and we’re in those conversations to support that after Romeo and Juliet is finished.
There’s conversation happening about one of the young people in particular, who has taken an interest in directing and producing this type of work, and so we’re looking to get him in to do his thing. Another is also a very enthusiastic music producer, and we’re in the process of getting some kind of fortnightly arrangement where he gets to come into the Belgrade and access equipment that he wouldn’t have otherwise.
Any final thoughts?
It’s just imperative. It doesn’t make sense to do the work without them. If you’re trying to represent a community, you have to know who the community are and the community have to have a level of involvement. There’s no point in us going and saying this is what we think you’ll like, they need to teach us, show us what we’re doing wrong, what are the nuances that we’re not getting right about the people or the area or whatever it might be? And in return, we can bring our experiences and our knowledge to your knowledge and experiences and then we can create collectively.
You know when people say the building belongs to you, there’s a real investment in that, it’s not just a saying. It’s about having that true engagement, so the doors of the Belgrade are continuously swinging both ways and there’s an education and a learning for everyone.
We asked one of our Coventry Academy participants… ‘If you could do something like this again, would you?’
“Yes, I’d do it 100 times over.”