Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet (Are Dying)

Staging large-scale crip-centric Shakespeare and researching accessible rehearsal practices

CRIPtic Arts is delighted to be presenting a large-scale Romeo and Juliet, directed by Jamie Hale and starring Tatum Swithenbank and Steph Castelete. Opening May 2027. 

With two disabled stars, this production explores themes of independence, autonomy and infantilisation, as Romeo and Juliet steal together a joyful relationship under the watchful eyes of their overprotective families. But as events outside their perfect world outpace them, is the real tragedy their deaths, or the world they live in?

This journey culminates in a large-scale production of Romeo and Juliet staged at the Barbican Pit Theatre. It will simultaneously equip a whole cohort of creatives with the skills and confidence to lead accessible work within the arts industry, and take these skills to the work they do in the future. Crucially, we will provide a blueprint for accessible practice to theatres and drama schools across the country.

Steph, a white woman with short brown hair, is in an electric wheelchair, white shirt with magick patterns, in front of Jamie, a white person with ginger hair, glasses and a ginger beard, wearing a black rollneck, in an electric wheelchair.
Credit: Shona Louise Photography

Background: Cripping Breath

This production is part of the Cripping Breath project led by the University of Sheffield and funded by the Wellcome Trust, exploring the meanings of breath and ventilation in society. Romeo and Juliet contributes to this research, exploring how one reimagines a classic play through the lens of breath and ventilation, and what it means to make and play Romeo and Juliet when you might use, or currently use, ventilators to support your breathing.

The Process

So where are we up to with our large-scale staging? We’ve completed our first R&D week, learning how to work together as we rehearsed three pivotal scenes, and are now doing some creative workshops with the likes of voice coach Christopher Holt and Movement Director Ayse Tashkiran, as we work our way through unpicking the play. We have two more R&D weeks coming up in September 2026 and February 2027 to further develop those pivotal scenes before we go into rehearsals for the full play in March, we expect.

Directing Romeo and Juliet has been a life-long dream, and reimagining it as a narrative of disability, infantilisation and autonomy has been a liberating process – especially as I work through it with such an incredible team. I want to create something that speaks to Shakespeare’s intentions, but also the disabled experience, infusing it with fresh air, and breath

Jamie Hale – Director

Accessible Rehearsal Practices

As part of this project, we’re researching accessible rehearsal practices and how structures around rehearsals can be redesigned to better meet the needs of disabled creatives – both in smaller spaces (such as our R&Ds) and larger spaces (such as the full performance run). As part of this research, we will create guides, resources and training for the wider theatre sector on how to create the conditions for success for disabled people within rehearsal processes. Jamie has written a fantastic blog all about our process so far which you can read here.

The way that Jamie – and the team, collectively – are running rehearsals feels quietly radical. By genuinely taking time to get the space and structure right for the artists, we’re able to make amazing work. I know the industry needs this kind of practice, both to tap into the talent of disabled artists, and to make work environments secure, generative, and fair on creatives.

Grace Joseph – University of Sheffield

R&D Images

  • Steph, a white woman with short brown hair in an electric wheelchair performs in rehearsal with Tatum, a white person with blonde mid length hair in a manual wheelchair
    Credit: Shona Louise Photography
  • Luke, a white person with short blonde curly hair, glasses and a moustache, reads through the scenes round the table.
    Credit: Shona Louise Photography
  • Tatum, a white person with blonde mid length hair in a manual wheelchair smiles towards camera during a break in rehearsals
    Credit: Shona Louise Photography
  • Tatum, a white person with blonde mid length hair in a manual wheelchair discusses the scene exploration with Jamie, a ginger hair white person with a ginger beard in an electric wheelchair discuss the scene so far in the rehearsal space.
    Credit: Shona Louise Photography
  • Steph, a white woman with short brown hair in an electric wheelchair; Grace, a white woman with short ginger hair; Tatum, a white person with blonde mid length hair in a manual wheelchair; Luke, a white person with short blonde curly hair, glasses and a moustache; amie, a ginger hair white person with a ginger beard in an electric wheelchair; and Jacqui, a black person with short black hair, a cardigan, in an electric wheelchair pose all together for a team photo in the rehearsal space.
    Credit: Shona Louise Photography
  • Tatum, a white person with blonde mid length hair in a manual wheelchair round the table discussing character and intentions during the R&D
    Credit: Shona Louise Photography
  • Grace, a white woman with short ginger hair; Tatum, a white person with blonde mid length hair in a manual wheelchair and Luke, a white person with short blonde curly hair, glasses and a moustache, discuss the scenes round the table.
    Credit: Shona Louise Photography
  • Steph, a white woman with short brown hair in an electric wheelchair performs in rehearsal
    Credit: Shona Louise Photography
  • Tatum, a white person with blonde mid length hair in a manual wheelchair performs in rehearsal
    Credit: Shona Louise Photography
  • Steph, a white woman with short brown hair in an electric wheelchair performs in rehearsal with Tatum, a white person with blonde mid length hair in a manual wheelchair - in front of Jamie Hale, a ginger haired white person with a ginger beard in an electric wheelchair, taking notes on the scene.
    Credit: Shona Louise Photography

The Team

Across the R&Ds, Performance and Research, we have an incredible disabled-led team, including:

Tatum Swithenbank

Romeo

A working-class queer crip performer from the Midlands. Passionate about narratives that centre community, culture, and accessibility. Their performance work includes CRIPtic Arts, Camden People’s Theatre, and the Roundhouse.

Tatum is a white person with blonde mid length hair in a manual wheelchair, wearing a deep green polo long sleeve top, black trousers and tan suede boots
Steph is a white woman with short brown hair in an electric wheelchair wearing a white shirt with Magick patterns, black trousers and black shoes

Stephanie Castelete

Juliet

A disabled actor from Northamptonshire, who is enthusiastic about performing in stories led by disabled characters. Stephanie proactively aims to represent disability in a true and positive light in all of her performances, focusing on romance and comedy.

Jamie Hale

Director

Winner of Future Theatre Fund Director of the Year, Offie-winning and Sky Arts Award shortlisted director and performer with experience on mid-scale work at the Barbican Centre, Roundhouse, Bristol Old Vic, HOME Manchester, Glastonbury Festival and more.

Jamie, a ginger hair white person with a ginger beard in an electric wheelchair, wearing a black rollneck, greyish jeans and multi-coloured nike high top trainers
Black & White headshot of Caitlin Richards. Caitlin is a white woman with long brown hair and hazel eyes. She looks softly towards the camera. She is wearing a black jumper and small gold hoops. Behind her is a brick wall.

Caitlin Richards

Producer

Producer with 10 years of experience across theatre, festivals and live events. Caitlin is Head of Programmes and Production at CRIPtic, where she leads on new work development, community programmes and staging exceptional disabled-led work nationally.

Luke Rogers

Assistant Producer

Project Manager at CRIPtic, Luke is passionate about working-class, queer, and disabled stories within the arts. They have produced their solo work nationally, in addition to new disabled-led work at Camden People’s Theatre, Liberty Festival and the Barbican Centre.

A headshot of Luke Rogers, a white person with blonde curly hair, metal framed glasses, and a moustahce, smiling towards camera. They wear a blue fleece zip up and white t shirt
A full-length shot of Jessi, a white non-binary person with short brown hair and brown eyes, showing them sitting in their powered wheelchair, which is parked on a path in front of some green grass and trees. They are gazing gently at the camera. Their right hand is resting on their wheelchair control and their left is on their armrest. Jessi is wearing a light blue shirt over a white t-shirt with an obscured slogan, grey trousers and dark blue Converse shoes.

Jessi Parrott

Research, Training and Evaluation Lead

Dr Jessi Parrott is a performer, creative and independent researcher. As a non-ambulatory powered wheelchair user, they are honoured to be the evaluation partner on Researching Romeo and the research, training and evaluation partner on Romeo and Juliet.

Grace Joseph

Research Associate (Cripping Breath)

Grace Joseph is a Research Associate at the University of Sheffield, co-leading the Arts Stream of Cripping Breath. Grace has a PhD on performance, disability, and access from Goldsmiths, University of London.

A headshot of Grace, a white woman with short ginger hair, wearing a navy jumper and white t shirt. She has her ears pierced and looks to the camera with a smile.