Romeo & Juliet: A Love Song – Shakespeare's ti­meless tale of star-crossed lovers retold in this contemporary New Zealand rock opera musical.

Every generation reinvents Romeo and Juliet in a way that strikes a chord with its peculiar sensibilities, experiences and outlook. This, then, is Romeo and Juliet for the YouTube generation, a film that plays off the wide-ranging tastes of youth accustomed to taking the glamorous with the grimy, the comic with the tragic, the beautiful with the freakish and the venal with the elevated.

Romeo & Juliet: A Love Song Reviews

“Rock operetta meets the trailer park in this latest ambitious, light and fun re-telling of the tale of Juliet and her Romeo. Set in Verona caravan park, it's the story of Romeo and erm, Juliet and their star crossed love, a story told a million times before and which has been given a spit and polish for this Kiwi version. The music came first this time around as composers/producers Michael O’Neill and Peter van der Fluit set Shakespeare’s text to music, mixing in styles such as rap, ballad and rock. Constantly surprising, director Tim van Dammen's clearly drawn heavily from his music video directing background and the whole piece comes together with such toe-tapping gusto that it's impossible to deny. With the talent miming to other voices, the occasional misfire with the voice matching/ miming drips through, but all in all, it's an extremely enjoyable affair…Ambitious and exciting, this Romeo and Juliet is something uniquely different; constantly surprising and always inventive, the operetta has an energy which is hard to ignore. A caravan roof doubles for a balcony and a wood just outside of the camping ground provides some truly memorable scenery as the declarations of love are unveiled. Shakespeare's text may have been remade repeatedly – but this Kiwi view of it shows off a clever twist on the stuffy text – it's a music video rock operetta with a high dose of energy and directing gusto.” Darren Bevan, tvnz.co.nz

“Purists might complain that the light-hearted treatment trashes the text but for the most part it’s fun and proves that Shakespeare’s story really is timeless.” Flicks.co.nz

“It's unsettling at first, as is the trashy Kiwi caravan park setting, but quickly you're dragged into this highly original take on the bard's classic tale, with Shakespeare's more-than 400-year-old words delivered in songs with styles ranging from rock and pop to hip-hop, gospel and sweet ballads. There's energy and a sense of humour to this adaptation..The caravan park is an unusual and clever setting, we can giggle at the overflowing ashtrays, caravan interiors and copious crates of beer, but it's an ideal location for teenage romance, warring families, sudden bursts of violence and odd characters doing odd things.” nzherald.co.nz