What’s in a name? ‘Fat Juliet’ reimagines classic play

When Fat Juliet premiered in Halifax in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, it reimagined Shakespeare’s classic tale through a contemporary, body-positive lens centered on the story’s heroine.

Playwright and actor Stevey Hunter, who was born and raised in Winnipeg, MB, began developing the script in 2017 while studying theatre at Dalhousie University.

They say the work was inspired by personal experiences with body image and the societal pressure to be thin. The narrative also reflects Hunter’s long-term, real-life, relationship with actor and singer Peter Sarty, who portrays Romeo. The two began dating in January 2016 while attending the same arts program.

The Signal spoke with Hunter and Sarty on March 22 followng a Saturday matinee of Fat Juliet at the Eastern Front Theatre in Dartmouth. They discussed the production’s evolution, performing as partners, and what it means to reclaim space onstage.

Stevey, tell us about your inspiration for “Fat Juliet.”

Hunter: Going to theatre school, I really enjoyed performing Shakespeare and Shakespeare in general. Even when I was in high school, there was something about Romeo and Juliet where I just fully wrote Juliet off as a character that I would ever play. There was something of just being like, I’m not an ingenue. I’m the funny sidekick that’s not for me. But then all of a sudden, when I was reading the actual text and having other friends who, when we speak and analyze Shakespeare, we would discuss how Juliet’s actually very thought out character. She really wants to take things slower than Romeo. She is following more of her logical brain than just the romantic one.

It’s Romeo, who’s the one coming into her room and professing his love, and he’s the one who’s also in love with a different girl at the beginning of the play. There are just so many natural red flags that we seem to avoid when reading the original Romeo and Juliet text. Some of those things piqued my interest, and it made me question why I had never thought about playing Juliet before.

And why? It’s not saying that no one would ever cast me as Juliet, but just based on what I see in society, typically, the people who get cast as Juliet don’t have the same bodies as me. Then, it made me want to put myself into Juliet and think about what it was like for me being 16 years old. If Romeo came and professed his love for me, I wouldn’t even trust it. I’d be like, no, I’m a piece of garbage, you’re so hot.

It’s just how evil our brains can be and how we can just be our own worst enemies. This play has really helped me heal a lot of that inner, evil brain.

Was the title of the production always going to be “Fat Juliet?”

Hunter: Yeah, I think honestly starting to write in 2017, that is I think where the brain space was. I think it was kind of like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna write a version of Romeo and Juliet where she’s fat, so she’s Fat Juliet.’

It’s just a descriptive word. It’s just the fact that it’s been used to bully and put people down. It’s really embracing the word and kind of reclaiming it in a way of it not having to be this negative thing.

This production first premiered in 2021. Peter, how has the experience evolved for you over time?

Peter Sarty (Romeo): What’s carried through from the first time we did it to now is just the joy of being in the show.

I really do believe that you have to love what you’re doing in order to put in that time and accept the long hours and being tired and going over things over and over again. With this show, it is just so worth it, because it just gives us joy.

Stevey, you are dating each other in real life. How do you think that plays into your onstage chemistry?

Hunter: We were already dating when I first started writing this play. I think it was partially being in love with Peter that gave me the confidence. I was like, I have this relationship I always wanted, and I’m still feeling that void. There’s something that I still need to heal in terms of my self-love and accepting myself, even in a romantic relationship. Not to give too much of the play away, but there’s a lot of ups and downs in terms of the relationship, and what is nice is knowing that at the end of it, we get to then drive home together and talk about how the show went.

Sarty: Yeah, just helps a lot to feel extra safe being on stage with Stevey, especially in the tender moments, the harder moments and the softer moments. It really helps to know that I’m on stage with my beloved and it makes everything a lot easier to tackle. There’s a lot of trust on stage with Stevey and I, so it just makes what this show is that much more special to me, and I think for the audience as well.

Hunter: Maybe also just that much more heartbreaking, because there’s real stakes, because it’s actually being like, ‘oh, this is a person I love,’ so rather than like, ‘oh, we’re just acting in love on stage,’ there’s something where it’s like, ‘oh, this feels more rooted.’

If you were to describe each other using one word, what would it be?

Sarty: Brilliant.

Hunter: Goofy, kind boy.