A gatecrashed party. A chance meeting. Love at first sight. This 90-minute version of Romeo and Juliet uses an edited version of the original language to create the perfect introduction to Shakespeare.

In addition to two weeks of performances in Stratford-upon-Avon, this production also took to the road and visited schools and theatres around the country. Here at Macmillan, we were extremely fortunate to host three performances for both the public and a selected student audience.

Moreover, we had the opportunity for a group of Year 7 students to play roles as the King's Council, performing alongside the RSC First Encounters team. The week concluded with a final performance at the Little Theatre. What an exciting close to the Middlesbrough tour!

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to both the RSC First Encounters team, our student performers, and all those who came along to see this fantastic performance.