STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, England – It’s boil, boil, toil and trouble in Stratford-upon-Avon, hometown to William Shakespeare, after a sex shop received the green light to open for business down the street from the renowned poet’s birthplace.
Romeo and Juliet’s Adult Boutique will sell toys and pornographic DVDs just 100 yards from where thousands of tourists each year visit the playwright’s home.
On May 29 angry community leaders told Great Britain’s Sun Magazine the shop, which is set to open its doors June 6, would “degrade” the theater town.
The Rev. Martin Gorick, vicar of Holy Trinity Church, where the Bard of Avon is buried, said: “It depresses me something so seedy will be in such a prominent position. It's a degradation of the environment. It’s a very prominent shop in a family area where school kids congregate.”
Mayor Jenny Fradgley added that, “It's not the image people want for Stratford.”
But shop owner Katie Gilbert insisted she wanted to “honor” Shakespeare with products such as candies shaped like Romeo and Juliet having sex.
“We’ll have Shakespeare-style novelty gifts, as well as lingerie and things for bachelor and bachelorette parties,” Gilbert told the publication. “Some people are too stuffy about the place. If you look at Shakespeare’s plays they were all about sex. I think he'd have approved.”
A spokeswoman for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust said, “We don’t have a problem with it as such. Many retailers and restaurants use names associated with Shakespeare. It is no surprise this shop does the same.”
