JULIET & Romeo is a humorous and heartfelt investigation into love, loss and longevity by Lost Dog dance theatre company.

What if…the star crossed lovers had not died, but are married and it’s not going so well? It turns out Romeo & Juliet didn’t die in a tragic misunderstanding, they grew up and lived happily ever after.

Well they lived at least and you can see how it all pans out at Cardigan’s Small World Theatre on Saturday, February 9 (8pm).

Now they’re 40ish and at least one of them is in the grips of a mid-life crisis. They feel constantly mocked by their teenage selves and haunted by the pressures of being the poster couple for romantic love.

They have decided to confront their current struggles by putting on a performance – about themselves.

Their therapist told them it was a terrible idea! With award-winning Lost Dog’s blend of dance, theatre and comedy, this duet takes on our cultural obsession with youth, and our inevitable issues with longevity.

Set to a powerful soundtrack; (Prokofiev, The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Sinatra), this is a no holds barred powerful dance/theatre show, with adult themes and some bad language.

Artistic director Ben Duke says: "When I watch Romeo and Juliet I am always hoping that their timings will be a little different and Juliet will wake up a few moments earlier. I know she never will but I can’t help hoping for it.

"The idea for this piece came from allowing myself to imagine that alternate version.

"It’s a piece that allows people to consider the nature of their own relationships, something we could all do with reflecting on. We’re touring to theatres and traditionally non-theatre venues in the first six months of this year – something we did last year.

"I love the fact that people come along to see the show because it’s happening in their theatre or their village hall; they arrive with no expectations even though there are the names of two very famous literary characters in the title of the piece. I love the intimacy of smaller venues as well – there’s nowhere to hide!”

"I’ve allowed myself to imagine an alternate version to Shakespeare’s original: in this work Juliet and Romeo have been together for about 25 years and they are in something of a marital crisis. They love each other but sometimes they wish the other one were dead…the bloom of teenage romance has definitely faded but it still haunts them.

“Romeo is in the middle of a mid-life crisis; he is trying to let go of the passionate teenager he was and become a man. But he doesn’t have any clear idea what that man should look like so he is in limbo. Juliet is very attached to the extraordinary teenager she was and is finding the ordinariness of her current life a struggle.”

Age recommendation is 13 and tickets are available at smallworld.org.uk. Booking in advance is recommended.