Report: Greg Phillips. Photos: Mitch Lowe
Almost thirty years on, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet remains a pop-culture milestone: it reimagined Shakespeare for a new generation and delivered one of the most iconic movie soundtracks of the 1990s. Now, as the film approaches its 30th anniversary, that legacy is being celebrated in a spectacular new way at Melbourne’s Astor Theatre.
Premiering last night and running through to September 28, the Astor is hosting the Australian debut of Romeo + Juliet: A Cinematic Experience, a production that has already wowed more than half a million people in London. Created by the UK’s Backyard Cinema and presented locally by Sony Music Australia, the event blends a screening of Luhrmann’s 1996 cult classic with live performance from a choir and band, who reimagine the soundtrack in real time.
Romeo + Juliet fans know that the film contains soaring renditions of songs that defined an era, from Des’ree’s Kissing You and Quindon Tarver’s Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good) to The Cardigans’ Lovefool and Radiohead’s Talk Show Host. The combination of cinema, concert, and theatre transforms the Astor into an immersive Verona Beach, complete with striking staging, neon-lit symbolism, and an atmosphere that blurs the line between film and live show.
Audiences will enjoy an experience that moves fluidly between screen and stage: at times the film pauses to allow the choir to take centre stage with powerful set pieces; at others, live voices and instruments weave around the movie’s narrative without interruption. The result is a multisensory retelling, part nostalgia trip, part reinvention, that highlights both Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy and Luhrmann’s audacious 90s vision.
Narrated by acclaimed Australian actress Nadine Garner and featuring a four piece band, which includes Loz Irwin-Ray, Ryan, Oliver, Robi Parolin and Ed Plowman, this is truly an emotive adventure. However it’s the 14 piece choir, led by Bridget A ‘Beckett that supplies the night’s biggest ’feels’, whether singing as one or via the many magnificent breakout solo spots. The post-movie showstopper of course is the choir’s poignant rendition of Prince’s When Doves Cry, buoyed by an outstanding arrangement.
Those who took notice of their English Literature teacher at school will know that the story of Romeo and Juliet surrounds the constant animosity between two warring families, the Capulets and Montagues. I selfishly take this moment to apologise to my English Literature teacher Max Tompkins for carelessly reading my Othello line, “Love’s quick pants in Desdmona’s arms’ as “Love’s quick arms in Desdemona’s pants”, an act which saw me relocated to the corridor for the remainder of the day! But I digress, the message that the Romeo and Juliet story carries at the end is the need to put aside differences and come together and at least talk, a point which is even more relevant today than it was back in Shakespearean times.
With extra sessions already added due to demand, Romeo + Juliet with Choir at the Astor Theatre is shaping up as one of Melbourne’s most memorable cultural events of 2025. https://www.astortheatre.net.au/
