Parents were angered by an all-female Romeo and Juliet production after the two roles exchanged a “passionate” kiss in front of startled children.
A woman played Romeo in a “all-female, modern production” of “SHEkespeare” presented by Dire Theatre Company at Campbelltown Performing Arts High last week.
The play apparently upset students in grades 8 through 10, and after parents protested to MP Mark Latham, he brought the matter up in the NSW Parliament.
Mr. Latham remarked, “There’s a passionate kissing sequence going on stage.” “Some of the boys yelled, some of the girls were unhappy, and there were others who were distressed.”
The note that was sent out, in which this was not mentioned, has the parents in a great deal of distress. The kids reported seeing two women kissing when they got home.
Then, Mr. Latham asserted that there were religious families of different faiths that did not support same-sex partnerships and that the school had not requested permission to show the performance.
It’s wrong; unless you have parental consent, this shouldn’t be done in front of 13- and 14-year-olds. Some of these youngsters haven’t even reached puberty, he claimed.
The Campbelltown community contains Christian, Hindu, Muslim, and socially conservative parents who hold differing opinions and were not given the chance to opt-out.
His assertions were refuted by education minister Sarah Mitchell, who also noted that the message was “compliant with the Department of Education’s Controversial Issues in Schools policy” and that parents had given their children full permission to attend.
According to Ms Mitchell, the performers’ on-stage kissing was deemed proper for the script.
According to the minister of education, no parents have voiced concerns to the school.
In order to modernize the stories, the Dire Theatre Company visits schools all around the state and conducts “Shakespeare in Schools” workshops.
According to Adam O’Brien, creative director of the organization, there have never been any complaints about the play’s interpretation.
“Back then, only men would have been permitted to perform; 400 years ago, a guy would have done Juliet,” he remarked.
It would seem reasonable to assume that Romeo and Juliet would share intimate moments on stage.
It would be naïve to assume that the love would be absent from the greatest love story ever told.
We reached out to Campbelltown Performing Arts High for comment.
According to a spokeswoman for NSW Education, the cast’s interactions were all consistent with the well-known plot of the play and there were no references to gender, sexuality, or gender fluidity in the performance.
As part of the standard curriculum topic covering Shakespeare for students in Years 8, 9, and 10, a performance of Romeo and Juliet by an outside theater company was held at Campbelltown Performing Arts High School, the spokeswoman added.
Attendance was optional, and in accordance with the Department of Education’s policy on controversial issues in schools, parents were allowed to opt their child out. To give oversight, teachers were present for the performance.