"Part, fools! Put up your swords; you know not what you do" – These are Benvolio’s words in Romeo and Juliet, moments before two people are murdered.
This quote lies at the heart of the Guildford Shakespeare Company’s Knife Crime Awareness programme, which runs alongside their production of Romeo and Juliet.
Though more than 400 years old, Shakespeare’s tragedy remains as relevant as ever – hate is discussed as much as love, and this, combined with violence, leads to the play’s heartbreaking conclusion. The modern adaptation, featuring knives instead of swords, is performed on the streets of Guildford and finds new meaning in a world where knife crime has become an almost constant presence in the news.
Co-founder of GSC, Sarah Gobran, explained that they wanted their 18th birthday performance to be a coming-of-age story and that Romeo and Juliet was the perfect choice.
“As we were going through the script for the play last year, we realised how deeply knife crime was entrenched in it. It was also on our minds because of the Knife Angel at the Cathedral and then a young boy was airlifted to hospital after being stabbed just outside our office in Guildford.
“We wanted our 18th birthday show to mean something, to have a legacy beyond the performance.”
To help raise awareness of the issue and explore how we can all contribute to preventing it, GSC teamed up with the University of Surrey, PubWatch, Street Angels, and the campaign charity Charlie’s Promise for an awareness event at Guildford Cathedral on July 3.
The event opened with a performance by GSC’s Saturday drama group (ages 12–18), depicting a key knife attack scene from Romeo and Juliet. This piece highlighted how easily peer pressure can influence individuals and how swiftly a life can be lost when individuals carry knives, even if they think it is just a “status symbol”.
After each organisation spoke, the group took to the stage again, but this time audience members could call out ‘stop’ and suggest how the scene could be resolved without violence.
GSC also had the Saturday group taking Romeo to the University of Surrey to put him on trial for the murder of Tybalt.
“We wanted to make it more accessible,” said Sarah. “We hoped the trial would make the group understand the seriousness of knife crime in a more tangible way.”
Martin Cosser, CEO and Founder of the charity Charlie’s Promise, spoke about how profoundly knife crime has affected his family. Martin is the father of Charlie, who was stabbed and killed at the age of 17 at a house party in Surrey in 2023. He spoke of the heartbreak, the anger, and the disbelief of how quickly life can change because of knife crime.
He said: "If it can happen to Charlie, my innocent boy, it can happen to anyone.”
Becky Molyneux, Chief Superintendent, stated: “Surrey may be the fifth safest county, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a problem. Even one person carrying a knife is one too many.”