Private Romeo

Private Romeo: A Modern Retelling of Shakespeare with a Bold, Queer Twist

Private Romeo is a daring and emotionally charged reimagining of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, directed by Alan Brown. Set within the walls of an isolated military academy, the film brings Shakespeare’s iconic tale of forbidden love into a modern, masculine world — replacing the Montagues and Capulets with young cadets and transforming the central romance into a story between two men. With its stripped-down setting and bold casting choices, Private Romeo becomes more than an adaptation: it becomes a powerful exploration of love, identity, and defiance.

The film follows eight male cadets left alone at an all-male military school after the rest of their peers and instructors are called away for training exercises. During their isolation, the students are assigned to study and perform Romeo and Juliet, and what begins as a school project quickly blurs into real emotion. The heart of the story focuses on Sam (Romeo) and Glenn (Juliet), two students who fall in love not just through rehearsals, but in real life. Their growing affection, played out in Shakespearean verse, becomes a genuine romance that challenges the norms of masculinity, hierarchy, and discipline within the military institution.

What makes Private Romeo so unique is its complete reliance on Shakespeare’s original text, spoken without alteration. Rather than modernizing the language, the film lets the poetry stand, juxtaposing the 16th-century words with the contemporary military setting. This contrast creates a surreal and intense atmosphere where the tension between duty and desire feels even more poignant. The decision to cast all men in every role — including female characters like Juliet and the Nurse — strips the story of gendered expectations and opens the door to a more universal understanding of love and longing.

Matt Doyle as Glenn/Juliet and Seth Numrich as Sam/Romeo deliver deeply intimate performances. Their chemistry is both tender and electric, capturing the innocence and urgency of first love. The supporting cast, playing multiple roles from Mercutio to Tybalt, brings energy and authenticity to the ensemble, balancing camaraderie, rivalry, and vulnerability.

Visually, the film is minimalistic but effective. The use of real military environments — dorm rooms, gymnasiums, and training grounds — underscores the sense of confinement and control, making the romantic rebellion of the two lovers even more striking. The sparse yet evocative cinematography keeps the focus on the actors and the language, allowing the emotional weight of the story to shine.

At its core, Private Romeo is a love story, but it’s also a bold statement about gender roles, sexuality, and the power of storytelling. By placing Shakespeare’s most famous heterosexual romance in a queer context, the film asks viewers to reconsider what love looks like and who gets to experience it on screen. It challenges the boundaries of tradition, both literary and societal, and dares to imagine a world where love defies all labels.

Private Romeo is not just a film for Shakespeare enthusiasts or LGBTQ+ audiences — it is a universal story of connection, courage, and the timeless truth that love, no matter its form, demands to be seen.