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| Sarah English plays Juliet while her Dal professor, Susan Stackhouse, plays the nurse in Neptune's production of Romeo and Juliet. (Liam Hennessey Photo) |
Sarah English has grown up around Neptune Theatre. She was just six years old when she first started taking classes at the Neptune Theatre School, and then ended up teaching there. Then, while studying acting at pilipiliĀž», she worked as an usher at the venerable theatre, often seeing plays 20 times over.
And now, finally, sheās making her debut on the Neptune stage -- just as she imagined all those nights as she showed patrons to their seats.
She plays Juliet in Neptuneās production of Shakespeareās Romeo and Juliet, nabbing the plum role just weeks after making the big move to Toronto.
āNeptuneās been a home away from home for me and itās so great to be back,ā says Ms. English, from Tantallon. She gives a shout-out to Miss Alford and Mr. Wholey, teachers at Sir John A. MacDonald High School, who introduced her to the joys of Shakespeare.
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| Sarah English as Juliet in the famed balcony scene. (Liam Hennessey Photo) |
Getting the role sent her back to the play to rediscover the girl she thought she already knew -- āyou know,ā she says, āa little whiny and bossy, a real girly-girl who hangs over balconies and fawns over boys.ā But Shakespeareās heroine turned out to be someone else entirely, someone not unlike herself.
āSheās not those things at all. I see her as very brave. You can look at it as desperate, but Iād say sheās driven,ā says Ms. English, who at 25 years of age can pass for someone much younger. She plays opposite Derek Moran as Romeo.
āIām playing her as playful, a little bit cheeky and teasing ... Iām finding myself in her.ā
Working at Neptune re-unites the former Dalhousie student with one of her professors, Susan Stackhouse, who plays Julietās nurse. āThereās a lot of nurturing warmth between Juliet and her nurse and it didnāt take us much effort at all to get cuddly,ā she says with a laugh. āSheās someone I look up to, for sure.ā
If you goWHAT: Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet |