In & Juliet, Indigenous Star Lorinda May Merrypor Explores A Life After Romeo

It's one of the greatest love stories of the Shakespeare era, but what would happen if Juliet didn't die at the end of Romeo & Juliet? It's this alternative ending that theatrical production & Juliet explores, giving the female protagonist the power to live her best life beyond tragedy.

In the Aussie iteration of the play that has already mesmerised audiences in London and Broadway, Lorinda May Merrypor portrays the eponymous character — a role she didn't envision playing when she studied the classic at school.

"I never could have imagined back then that I would be playing Juliet one day," the 26-year-old tells Refinery29 Australia. "It's incredible."

As Juliet embarks on a journey of self-discovery, empowerment and love in this vibrant pop musical, Merrypor emphasises that the script is underpinned by the themes of female empowerment and women living life on their own terms.

"Juliet decides not to end her life and to see what else is out there and take control over her own destiny," she explains.

The actor admires Juliet's positivity and determination "to just keep pushing forward", harnessing self-confidence in the face of adversity. "I think that's really inspiring," says Merrypor.

"The fact that Juliet is so confident in who she is — that's something that personally inspires me. She's so sure of herself, and she's so sure that she's meant for something great."

The musical numbers equally elevate women, spotlighting female artists of this era with tracks like 'Baby One More Time' by Britney Spears and Kelly Clarkson's 'Since You've Been Gone'.

"It's such an honour to get the opportunity, to sing these songs by such powerful pop women that I've looked up to and been inspired by my whole life," gushes Merrypor.

"Not only are there Ariana Grande and Britney Spears, but you've [also] got Katy Perry and Jessie J. The way the songs have been reimagined for the show is really clever, and it's been really lovely how the team's so willing to let us put our own spin on the songs and make them our own."

Musical theatre has always been a dream career for Merrypor, since watching Disney's High School Musical in 2006. However, she didn't anticipate landing a lead role in a production of & Juliet's scale, as she rarely saw First Nations women in the arts, apart from in films like The Sapphires, starring Jessica Mauboy, Deborah Mailman, Miranda Tapsell and Shari Sebbens.

"For a lot of my kind of childhood, I had always dreamed of doing musical theatre, but I wasn't sure, you know, if I would ever get cast in lead roles like this because it wasn't something that I had seen growing up," says the proud Kuungkari and South Sea Islander woman. "So, it was difficult to imagine that it could be possible for me to do."

To now be the representation she "missed out on" seeing when she was growing up, is a huge honour to the rising star. It's also a thrill to be able to work with other Indigenous creatives such as Casey Donovan in & Juliet.

"She plays almost like a motherly figure to me," says Merrypor. "So I think it's been really nice to have that kind of connection there as well."

& Juliet also stars the likes of Rob Mills, Hayden Tee, Jesse Dutlow, Yashith Fernando and more. The show is playing at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre from now until Sunday, June 4.