This year marks the tenth anniversary of Little Seed Theatre Company’s ‘Shakespeare at the Lake’, series featuring students aged fifteen to eighteen breathing life into centuries-old plays.
The company’s latest production: Romeo and Juliet, at Lake MacDonald Amphitheatre, may have impressed the playwright Shakespeare himself.
Lush green trees in the Noosa Botanic Gardens curl around the space to create an intimate atmosphere while stunning Lake MacDonald provides a magnificent backdrop for the play.
Giant columns in the amphitheatre frame the love story that unfolds as Romeo and Juliet fall in love.
The cast open the performance with a gust of energy maintained throughout the play.
Chemistry between the actors is evident. Heath Basinauro as Romeo and his friends Mercutio (Hannah Borham) and Benvolio (Henry James) bounce off each other in dialogue and physical interaction. While the play’s text heralds from long ago, the young men’s boisterous, raucous behaviour is resonant of today’s teens.
Juliet (Chinta Wallace) and her nurse (Lulu Fitzgerald) convey beautifully a relationship of warmth and conspiratorial closeness between a wet nurse and her surrogate daughter. Fitzgerald demonstrates great range delivering hilarious lines and bawdy comments whilst conveying the vicarious pain she feels as Juliet’s doomed love story plays out.
IMAGE supplied
Wallace and Basinauro ignite their on-stage chemistry with stolen glances at a masked ball. Quickly the chemistry progresses to passionate kisses. The famous balcony scene was a delight to witness with the two actors capturing the intoxication of first love.
Basinauro is a joy to watch as he portrays Romeo’s youthful enthusiasm for life, friendship and his new love, Juliet. His expressive voice and face convey the spectrum of emotions demanded of this role.
Wallace depicts Juliet as a young girl on the cusp of adulthood wrestling with frustration at controlling parents determined to see her marry for social standing rather than love. After executing her plan to stage her own death and secure unity with Romeo, Wallace exquisitely conveys Juliet’s grief and heartbreak as she awakes to discover her love lifeless before her. Audience members seem to share her anguish as Juliet prepared to take her own life to ensure her place beside her husband in eternity.
IMAGE by Brooke Peterson
The cast do an admirable job of translating the centuries-old text to today’s audience through excellent acting, movement, costume and chemistry. Translating a complex text to a varied audience, ranging from gurgling babies through to the elderly, is no mean feat. However, audience engagement was evident in audible laughs, gasps and tears in the final scene.
PHOTO by Brooke Peterson
During the performance, Matilda Malone perches on a balcony above, accompanying the play with gentle piano melodies and delicate vocals. Faithful to its roots in both dialogue and costume, the few contemporary songs woven by Matilda into Little Seed’s production further connect the modern-day audience to the age-old story.
Director Johanna Wallace and Student Director Hannah Borham make excellent use of the amphitheatre with cast members performing on balconies, draped next to the giant columns and threading their way through the audience. Choreography is excellent, particularly in the intricate dance scenes and comedic jostling between Romeo and his friends. The daring sword combat scene is well-timed and executed.
Little Seed Theatre Company cast and crew have done themselves proud with this production. It shows maturity beyond its years to make the audience laugh and cry and perhaps remember the sensation of first love.
Little Seed’s production of Romeo and Juliet next plays on 23, 24 & 31 May 2026 at Noosa Botanical Gardens Amphitheatre at Lake Macdonald. Tickets from $25
All images supplied by Little Seed Theatre Company
