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Romeo and Juliet

Jamie Hale and CRIPtic Arts

— ,The Pit
A performer in a wheelchair gestures with their arm lifted

© Shona Louise

Trailblazing disabled-led company CRIPtic Arts returns with a bold reimagining of Shakespeare's classic exploring independence, autonomy and finding your person when you know you don’t have long left.

Juliet is bored. She is under the care of parents who believe there is no life for her, a disabled woman who uses a ventilator to breathe, outside the walls of their home. Under their ‘protection’ Juliet feels her life slipping away. To her, that is a tragedy. With her future managed by others, will she ever experience love, adulthood or freedom?

Then she meets Romeo, disabled, confident and independent. In a society which controls them, their relationship becomes a joyful act of rebellion. No longer a distant dream, love is present, immediate, urgent, risky and above all alive. But how does this tragic love story change when our star-crossed lovers know they’re here for a good time, not a long time?

Exploring breath through Shakespeare’s abridged language, this vital production furthers CRIPtic’s award-winning work in disabled-led theatre.

Tagged with: Theatre & dance Young Barbican Theatre and Dance: Spring 2027

Duration: 2h 30mins (including a 20-minute interval)

Age guidance: 12+

Accessibility:
All performances are BSL-interpreted, Captioned, Audio-Described and Relaxed.

There are spaces for wheelchair users available at this event. If you're a wheelchair user, please email us to reserve your tickets by contacting [email protected] and we'll check availability and book your place.

Post-show talk:
Fri 14 May
Free to same-day ticket holders.

Presented by the Barbican.

This show is supported by the Wellcome Trust [226472/Z/22/Z] and is part of the Cripping Breath research project, led by Sheffield University.

Ticket prices

Standard
From £21.50 (£20 + £1.50 transaction fee)

These accessibility provisions are available for this event.

Audio described
BSL
Captioned
Relaxed

Reviews

  • ‘One of the country’s most influential and outstanding disabled-led creative organisations.‘
    The Evening Standard
  • ‘A disabled-led company full of both humour and defiant revolution.‘
    Everything Theatre

About CRIPtic Arts

CRIPtic Arts works to create an artistic landscape where disabled people flourish.

CRIPtic Arts develops, produces and stages world-class theatre by disabled creatives. The work is disabled led, but they don’t make your standard disability narratives. They  produce work that is bold, feisty, vulnerable, absurd, and introspective, all through a disabled lens.

They are committed to reaching people where they are, by collaborating with artists, industry, venues and audiences across the country and online. They’re also researching the lack of accessibility, creating new methodologies, advocating for the importance of access and offering training on how to do it.

The Pit

Location
The Pit is located on Level -2 within the main Barbican building and can be accessed via the stairs or lifts on Level G, next to the doors to the Lakeside Terrace. 

Address
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London
EC2Y 8DS

Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.