Written by orange• July 19, 2026• 9:16 pm• College Theatre, New Swan Shakespeare Festival, Review, Theater, Uncategorized

New Swan Shakespeare Festival Presents : Romeo and Juliet @ University of California, Irvine – Review

Photo courtesy: New Swan Shakespeare Festival

Written by Zack Johnston

The New Swan Shakespeare Festival at UC Irvine presents its 2026 season this month, and it includes the Bard’s most iconic romantic tragedy, Romeo & Juliet. In our era of conceptualized Shakespearean drama, this production is successfully able to use its context to elevate the text, rather than the other way around.

Story

It’s the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, a devastating time for the American Midwest where two agricultural powerhouses are in competition to survive. The Montagues and Capulets are in a constant state of rivalry—at times entering physical conflict—but that fails to stand in the way of the impassioned love between their respective children. It’s not until the lovers’ untimely demise that the families can finally bury their strife.

Although the setting is more modernized, The New Swan Theater provides a taste of true Elizabethan-age theater. Its intimate, in-the-round design mimics the storied Globe Theater in London, where Shakespeare’s work was originally performed.

Acting

The cast in this show is impeccable. They make the choreographed dancing and stage combat look effortless. The acting is such that the poetic dialogue comes through clearly and without any sense of it being overdramatized. Humorous bits are peppered throughout the performance and characters’ intentions are illustrated through subtle actions that make this timeless love story fresh and exciting. Impressively, almost all of the actors also have roles in the festival’s concurrent show The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove.

Lourdes Castillo is a beguiling Juliet. Her evolution from sly and soft-spoken to madly love-stricken is incredibly captivating. She carries the character through her journey with a great sense of empowerment and sensitivity towards the tragic ending. Her Romeo, Zach Trent, finds the nuances within his character’s emotional turmoil as he volleys between intense infatuation and utter heartbreak.

Wyn Moreno portrays Juliet’s father as the jubilant, yet unyielding patriarch of the Capulet house. He possesses an undeniable mastery of the text. He not only makes the character easy to digest, but he also provides a masculine dynamic that connects the play to the more modern setting. Alejandra Villanueva gives another standout performance as Juliet’s nurse, with an unmatched comedic flavor and a sheer commitment to expressing the conflicting emotions experienced by Juliet’s closest confidant.

In one of the show’s more physical performances, Heriberto Cruz Jr. is endlessly entertaining as Romeo’s friend Mercutio. Between his charismatic monologues and tension-laced fight scenes, Cruz offers a devastatingly impactful performance whenever he’s on stage.

Each headstrong character in this outdoor performance is beautifully presented alongside a bevy of creative technical details that include lighting, sound, and scenic displays that all culminate in a spectacular Shakespeare production.