Shakespeare's Coolbellup

The Streets

When Coolbellup was developed in the 1960s, its planners did something quietly remarkable — they named its streets after characters from Shakespeare's plays. The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, and a dozen other works are all woven into the everyday geography of this southern Perth suburb.

Today more than fifty streets carry these names: Prospero Place, Cordelia Way, Juliet Road, Ariel Court, Caliban Close. Residents walk the plots of the plays without perhaps knowing it. Children grow up on streets named for lovers, kings, sprites, and villains who have endured four centuries of telling and retelling.

The Vision

Shakespeare's Coolbellup is a community project with a simple and joyful ambition: to bring these streets to life.

We believe that the best place to perform Romeo and Juliet is Romeo Road. That a scene from The Tempest belongs in the open air of Prospero Place. That Coolbellup's parks, verges, roundabouts, and laneways are ready-made stages — and that the people who live on them are the natural cast.

We want to see community-led readings, pop-up performances, walking tours, and neighbourhood gatherings that celebrate what makes this suburb genuinely singular. No theatre required. No prior experience necessary. Just curiosity, a script, and a street corner.

Get Involved

Whether you want to organise a performance, propose a walking tour, connect local schools with the project, or simply share a story about growing up on one of these streets — we would love to hear from you.

This project is community-led and community-owned. There are no gatekeepers. If you live on Juliet Road and want to host a reading in your front garden, you are already part of it.