Bell Shakespeare Online Resources

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1 Bell Shakespeare Online Resources ROMEO AND JULIET ONLINE RESOURCES CONTENTS ABOUT BELL SHAKESPEARE 2 CREATIVE TEAM 3 SYNOPSIS 4 BACKGROUND TO THE PLAY 6 FILMS AND ADAPTATIONS 7 CHARACTER CHART 8 KEY CHARACTERS 9 THEMATIC CONCERNS 11 INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR JAMES EVANS 13 ABOUT THE DESIGN 15 PRE-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES 16 POST-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES 23 FURTHER RESOURCES 36 1

2 ABOUT BELL SHAKESPEARE 2015 is a very exciting year for Bell Shakespeare it s our 25th anniversary! Founded in 1990 and beginning life in a circus tent, Bell Shakespeare has grown into Australia s national touring theatre company playing to over 80,000 school students every year in theatre complexes and school auditoria all over the country. Add to that another 75,000 online and you ll see that our outreach is unrivalled. So how are we celebrating our 25th birthday? With a stunning line-up of popular Shakespeare plays. The year begins with the lyrical romantic comedy As You like It directed by Peter Evans and featuring John Bell in the role of Jaques. This will play in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Hamlet is our big national tour of some thirty venues. It will be directed by Damien Ryan, whose Henry V in 2014 was such a resounding triumph. In the title role we have Josh McConville, one of the most dynamic performers of his generation. The Tempest, one of Shakespeare s last plays, will perform in Sydney. John Bell will direct this magical, mystical fable with a superlative cast of actors, headed by Brian Lipson as Prospero. Our dedicated youth production in 2015 will be Romeo And Juliet, performed by our 2015 Players under the direction of James Evans, whose Macbeth in 2014 was such a success with school audiences. As with Macbeth, this will be a 90-minute, no-interval adaptation and will perform at Sydney Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne. It is sure to sell out fast, so we urge you to book early! The Players will also take to the road with their Actors At Work productions, touring the country with the dark depths of Macbeth: Undone and the hilarious heights of Midsummer Madness. Both shows are tried and true favourites with students. We re also excited to launch our new online resource with ABC Splash, Shakespeare Unbound. These 12 scenes from six of Shakespeare s most famous plays are paired with commentaries from the director and cast, and will prove invaluable for students and teachers alike, allowing unfettered access to Shakespeare s works performed by Australia s best-known theatre actors. Alongside these productions we ll once again offer Student Masterclasses, Artist in Residence, the Regional Teacher Scholarship and teacher Professional Learning. We wish you a happy and fulfilling year of Shakespeare in the year ahead. John Bell AO and Peter Evans Artistic Directors Bell Shakespeare highly values its partnerships with all the organisations that support our education programmes including the Department of Education and Training; BHP Billiton; Foxtel; Australia Council for the Arts; Arts New South Wales; Arts South Australia; Bill & Patricia Ritchie Foundation, Collier Charitable Fund; Crown Resorts Foundation; E B Myer Charity Fund; Gandel Philanthropy; Ian Potter Foundation; James N Kirby Foundation; Limb Family Foundation; Packer Family Foundation; Playing Australia; Scully Fund; Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation; Weir Anderson Foundation; Wesfarmers Arts. Bell Shakespeare Learning Initiatives 2012 to 2015 are supported by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training. 2

3 ROMEO AND JULIET CREATIVE TEAM CAST THE PLAYERS 2015 JULIET ROMEO LORD CAPULET/FRIAR LADY CAPULET NURSE/PRINCE BENVOLIO TYBALT/PARIS MERCUTIO/LORD MONTAGUE Amy Sam Cameron Lucy Anna Alice Jake Shiv CREATIVES DIRECTOR SET & COSTUME DESIGNER LIGHTING DESIGNER COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER MOVEMENT DIRECTOR James Evans Renee Mulder Nicholas Rayment Nate Edmondson Scott Witt CREW SYDNEY STAGE MANAGER MELBOURNE STAGE MANAGER ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER HEAD ELECTRICIAN HEAD MECHANIST HEAD OF AUDIO COSTUME SUPERVISOR COSTUME ASSISTANT SET BUILT BY LIGHTING SUPPLIED BY Sarah Stait Stephan Moore Gina Bianco Kyle Bockmann Dion Robinson Bede Schofield Jude Loxley Katrina McFarlane MNR Constructions 3

4 SYNOPSIS Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross d lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark d love, And the continuance of their parents rage, Which, but their children s end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. Usefully, this play summarises its plot in its Prologue. But if you care for a little more There is a violent brawl on the streets of Verona, arising from long-simmering tension between two noble families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Tired of seeing them endanger the populace, the Prince bans further confrontation on pain of death. The young heir of the Montague family, Romeo, cares little for all this, as he is obsessed with his love for a girl called Rosaline, who will have nothing to do with him. His friends attempt to cheer him up, and his cousin Benvolio suggests that they all attend a feast at the house of the Capulets, where Romeo can compare the object of his affection with other young women, and realise she is nothing special. At the Capulets home Juliet s mother and nurse give her the news that Paris, a young relative of the Prince of Verona, has expressed interest in marrying her. They tell her she will have the chance to meet him at the party tonight. Juliet does not seem especially interested, but promises to give him a chance, with the approval of her parents. At the ball, Romeo and Juliet see each other, and feel an instant attraction. Within one or two minutes of meeting they share their first kiss, and only later find out who the other is. Juliet s cousin Tybalt recognises Romeo, but Lord Capulet forbids him from causing trouble. Later, Romeo sneaks back into the Capulets grounds and overhears Juliet, at her window, declaring her love for him. Romeo jumps out of his hiding spot and declares his love for her as well; they decide to marry the next day. Romeo and Juliet are married in secret by their friend and adviser, Friar Lawrence. Juliet s nurse is the only other person who knows about the ceremony. Later that afternoon, Romeo encounters Tybalt, who picks a fight. When Romeo will not bite, Tybalt begins a duel with Mercutio and kills him. Enraged by this, Romeo slays Tybalt. The Prince banishes him. Knowing nothing of this, Juliet prepares to receive Romeo in her room for their wedding night. Friar Lawrence suggests that Romeo should spend the night with Juliet, and then escape to Mantua at dawn, where he will arrange for Juliet to follow. Seeing her extreme grief, Juliet s father decides to have her marry Paris as soon as possible, to cheer her up. Now there is no time to make plans for Juliet to leave to join Romeo before her wedding. Forced into this crisis by the lack of time, Friar Lawrence gives Juliet a potion to drink that will make her appear dead for 42 hours. He promises to send word to Romeo to come and fetch her from the Capulet tomb, where her family will lay 4

5 her. Juliet drinks the potion and, believed dead, is placed in the vault. But the Friar s messenger fails to reach Romeo, who hears only that Juliet is dead. He visits an Apothecary to collect a poison that he might drink and die beside Juliet. Romeo goes by night to the tomb, where he meets the mourning Paris. They fight and Paris is killed. Romeo breaks into the tomb, sees the apparently dead Juliet, drinks the poison, and dies beside her. The Friar, hearing that his plan has miscarried, hastens to rescue Juliet, who wakes as he enters. He shows her what has happened, but is too scared to remain. Upon seeing Romeo dead, Juliet stabs herself with his dagger. The Prince arrives, the Friar is caught and explains what has happened. Their grief at realising what calamity their enmity has caused finally forces the Montague and Capulet families to reconcile. 5

6 BACKGROUND TO THE PLAY Adapted, by several steps, from an Italian novella, this was an early tragedy for Shakespeare (apart from Titus Andronicus he had written only comedies and history plays by this stage). The story of two young star-crossed lovers was most popular in France and Italy, with tales about them existing hundreds of years before Shakespeare. The tale of Pyramus and Thisbe, for example, derived from the Roman author Ovid and played out in A Midsummer Night s Dream, has similarities. Shakespeare s take on the Romeo and Juliet story seems to have been based mainly on The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, a narrative poem written in 1562 by Arthur Brooke. This was an English version of the French translation by Boaistuau of the original Italian novella by Matteo Bandello. Shakespeare may also have been familiar with William Painter s English translation directly from the Italian. Brooke s poem extends to 3,020 lines in couplets and poulters, with lines alternating between twelve and fourteen syllables. It includes a prologue that makes it clear that Brooke s moral is that young people who ignore the guidance of their parents and get carried away by their own desires will come to a bad end. Shakespeare always enjoyed mixing his genres, a habit he was criticised for by his fellow playwrights. The setup of this play gives a powerful suggestion that we are watching a romantic comedy. Stock characters like the bawdy, garrulous nurse and the meddling friar come straight from the comic playbook. So does the plot of lovers seeking to outwit older parental figures in order to marry. Written before the construction of the Globe, Romeo And Juliet was probably first performed in the playhouse known as The Theatre, which was his company s main venue before There were several Quarto (small, cheap, quickly printed versions) editions of the play that were published during Shakespeare s lifetime, which suggests the play was popular right from the start. It also appears in the First Folio, which was the collection of Shakespeare s complete works published seven years after his death. Of course, most of the greatest actors have seized the chance to play the roles of Romeo and Juliet, usually early in their careers. Romeo was David Tennant s first lead role with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Joseph Fiennes, Ian McKellen, Timothy Dalton and Sean Bean are others who have taken the role. During the Victorian period there was a fashion for casting women as Romeo, as the expressions of love and desire were thought to appear more refined when performed this way. Famous Juliets include Vivien Leigh, Peggy Ashcroft, Judi Dench and Meryl Streep. 6

7 FILMS AND ADAPTATIONS The best known cinematic versions of Romeo And Juliet are those directed by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968 and by Baz Lurhmann in However, also available is the BBC Shakespeare version of 1978 and the 2013 version directed by Carlo Carlei, with a certain amount of script adaptation by Julian Fellowes. The Broadway stage production from 2014 staring Condola Rashad and Orlando Bloom is available to watch in its entirety on YouTube: This story has inspired all kinds of adaptations, variations, parodies and responses, as people for centuries have been so captivated by these characters and their tale of passion. Some of the most well-known include: The ballet version by Prokofiev, which was a much-loved vehicle for the famous dancers Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. Leonard Bernstein s West Side Story, a musical set in 1950s New York. The film version was made in John Madden s Shakespeare In Love, from 1998, which imagines a romantic story about the writing of the play. The Canadian TV series Slings & Arrows includes the rehearsal of a production of Romeo And Juliet as its season 2 subplot: youtube.com/watch?v=siy4-_leqta&list=pl cf79 Joe Calarco s Shakespeare s R&J, which was performed by Bell Shakespeare in The recent Irish play A Tender Thing imagines Romeo and Juliet living into old age together. Gnomeo and Juliet, an animated children s comic adaptation about garden gnomes. Of course, there are also countless songs and artworks that make reference to the lovers. Slings & Arrows West Side Story 7

8 CHARACTER CHART NOBILITY Prince Paris Mecructio Romeo Benvolio Lord & Lady Montague Juliet Tybalt Lord & Lady Capulet Friar Lawrence SERVANTS Balthasar Abraham Nurse Peter Sampson Gregory 8

9 KEY CHARACTERS ROMEO How silver-sweet sound lovers tongues by night (Act 2, Scene 2) There is much elasticity in how the role of Romeo can be played. He can seem like the ultimate romantic hero, or self-indulgent and yet to grow up. Certainly when he first appears he is the model of the medieval Courtly Lover sad, pining, frustrated and obsessing over Rosaline. The moment he meets Juliet at the Capulet ball, his speech transforms. It is as if true love gives him access to a new, more heightened language. Romeo marries Juliet a little over 12 hours after they first meet. He is keen to be reconciled to the Capulet family now, but Juliet s cousin, Tybalt won t allow that to happen. Romeo s snap decision to avenge Mercutio s murder precipitates the turning point in the play: after he kills Tybalt there can be no happy resolution. When Romeo is banished for killing Tybalt, he takes the punishment hard, but he trusts Friar Lawrence to come up with a plan. Hearing news of Juliet s death, Romeo doesn t hesitate to return from his exile in Mantua. He reluctantly kills Paris at the Capulet tomb, before giving the sleeping Juliet one last kiss and taking his own life. JULIET Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night (Act 3, Scene 2) It is much easier to see the arc of emotional growth in the way Juliet is written. So obviously a child who does not even think about love and marriage at the beginning of the play, she matures into a person prepared to make studied decisions about love, sex and her destiny. The radical nature of Juliet s actions is difficult for a modern audience to fully comprehend. When her father says, An you be mine, I ll give you to my friend; / And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets (Act 3, Scene 5) he speaks no more than his right as her father, no less when he describes her as baggage. She is his possession, to pass on to the man of his choosing. In choosing for herself, Juliet is challenging everything about her upbringing and the society of which she is a part. Juliet is permitted a remarkable amount of solo stage time. Female characters are not usually given more than one soliloquy in a play from Shakespeare s era. Instead, Juliet holds the stage alone on four occasions: on her balcony thinking about Romeo, waiting for him to come to her on their wedding night, preparing to take the sleeping draught, and then deciding to kill herself to join him. Between them these speeches give as complete a picture of love as could be hoped for, perhaps summarised when she cries out to him as Love, lord, ay, husband, friend (Act 3, Scene 5). Though this is spoken impulsively, she has indeed considered the importance of Romeo s association with her in each of these roles that between them make a full relationship. MERCUTIO Prick love for pricking and you beat love down. (Act 1, Scene 4) Despite not being the lead, there has always been a sense that Mercutio is the showpiece role of this play. His wit and flamboyance hold the audience s attention whenever he is on stage. Mercutio is Romeo s most quickwitted friend, but is not a Montague himself, but rather a relation of the Prince. He first appears in the play with Romeo in Act 1, Scene 4 where he mocks his lovelorn friend. Mercutio jokes frequently but his humour is often dark and bitter, and very frequently sexually lewd. The complexity of his language, however crude, is socially perceptive and functions on many levels. His deep attachment to Romeo takes the form of constantly trying to free him from the bounds of romantic love, which gives productions the chance to explore a range of possibilities about the nature of his feelings. It is worth remembering that Mercutio dies without ever hearing Juliet mentioned by Romeo. He has no idea his friend isn t still in love with Rosaline. Mercutio s death at the hands of Tybalt enrages a formerly peaceful Romeo. As Mercutio dies he does not reserve his blame for Tybalt, but curses both the feuding families. 9

10 BENVOLIO Tell me in sadness, who is that you love. (Act 1, Scene 1) Always the moderating voice to his friends, Benvolio is also a vehicle for delivering the plot. He appears to be a gentle spirit, despite Mercutio s teasing that he is as hot a Jack in thy mood as any in Italy, and is always quick to sue for peace or enquire after Romeo s wellbeing. He is Montague s nephew and therefore Romeo s cousin, not merely his friend. The name Benvolio derives from the Latin root meaning benevolent, good and charitable. PARIS O woe! Thy canopy is dust and stones (Act 5, Scene 3) Paris is a relative of the Prince, and marriage to him would be a great social coup for a noble family like Juliet s. His feelings for Juliet seem by the evidence to be genuine. All reports suggest that he is handsome, cultivated and honourable. So why does Juliet have eyes only for Romeo? Love is funny that way. TYBALT Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting, / Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting. (Act 1, Scene 5) Juliet s cousin has no qualms of conscience about continuing the animosity between the families. It is Tybalt who escalates the fight in Act 1, when Benvolio tries to diffuse it, and he who would willingly attack Romeo, even in his family s house, when he recognises him at the feast. He is referred to by Mercutio as the Prince of Cats, which is an insulting comparison to a similarly named character in the French fable of Renard the Fox. Tybalt is also the name of a fencing move. THE PARENTS My child, my only life, / Revive, look up, or I will die with thee! (Act 4, Scene 5) Lord and Lady Capulet and Lord and Lady Montague all have distinct personalities, and ups and downs in their relationship with their children. What is noticeable to the modern eye, however, is how much say they have in how their children s lives will be arranged, particularly in the case of Juliet. Also apparent is their seeming inability to communicate with their children. Lady Capulet cannot talk to her daughter without the help of the Nurse, who seems to know Juliet better than she does herself. Lord Capulet s affection turns to fury the moment he picks up a hint of disobedience in his daughter. Lord and Lady Montague send Benvolio to find out what is wrong with their son. The generation gap appears good and active in Renaissance Verona. THE NURSE Go, girl, seek happy nights to happy days. (Act 1, Scene 3) The Nurse is one of the characters most responsible for giving the impression that we are watching a romantic comedy where everything will be resolved happily. In this period a nurse would mean a wet-nurse, that is, a servant woman who was hired by upper-class women to breastfeed their babies. As well as providing comedy with her lengthy speeches, the Nurse gives background information on the characters. Her role as Juliet s only confidant makes Juliet s isolation the more obvious when she withdraws her support and suggests that marriage to Paris might be the best solution. THE FRIAR For this alliance may so happy prove, / To turn your households rancour to pure love. (Act 2, Scene 3) The balance between the Friar s good intentions and responsibility for disastrous outcomes will be read differently in different productions. The meddling priest whose interference is either inept or malicious was a stock character in this period, but usually in comedy. His knowledge of herbs and potions is also a common feature of such characters. There is no doubt that his only desire is to help, to see Romeo and Juliet married and their families reconciled, but he is not without his flaws. The scene in which he finds Romeo dead but Juliet still alive, yet fails to save her, exposes his ultimate weakness, especially in contrast to Juliet s calm resolve. He finishes looking like one more example of the many adults who fail the young people in the play. 10

11 THEMATIC CONCERNS LOVE AND DEATH Then love-devouring death do what he dare (Act 2, Scene 6) Love and sex are not separated in this play, but neither are sex/love and death. When love comes it arrives in all its aspects, the mental, spiritual and the corporeal. Romeo and Juliet s shared intellectual space is marked by all the times a line of verse is shared between the two of them, and he keeps calling her saint, but there is no question that they also desire each other in earthly, physical ways. Despite the many comic strands in the play, mention of death is never more than a few lines away. Frankly, there are too many lines associating love with death in this play to include them here. Just to show how far it extends, however, consider that when Juliet first meets Romeo she says, If he be married my grave is like to be my wedding bed. (Act 1, Scene 5), and that even Lord Capulet makes artful speeches connecting the two, explicitly telling Paris that Death has taken his daughter s virginity, instead of him. O son, the night before thy wedding day Hath Death lain with thy wife. There she lies, Flower as she was, deflowered by him. Death is my son-in-law, Death is my heir. My daughter he hath wedded. (Act 4, Scene 4) The irony could work at a deeper level than anyone would expect if we think of Romeo as Death; after all, every single person who dies in this play does so either directly or indirectly because of him, and it was he who actually deflowered Capulet s child. The figurative identification of death with orgasm was already current at this time, and is employed liberally in this script, but the links between the two are much deeper and more sophisticated than this. Here is Eros clasped in the arms of Thanos as if the full awakening of the senses that we recognise as love can only happen in the urgent space under death s shadow. FATE AND FREE WILL Then I defy you, stars! (Act 5, Scene 1) Fate is a key element of Romeo And Juliet, but it only takes us so far. From the very beginning in the Chorus first speech the title characters are introduced as a pair of star-crossed lovers. Much debate has arisen over the exact meaning of these terms. People in the Elizabethan era were very concerned with the notion of fate as a power controlling social hierarchy and order along with man s destiny. However, to reduce this to a story of naive love trapped by impending doom is to sell this play and its characters short. Fate or the stars in history are often referring to heavenly bodies inextricably linking man to the universe and those who came before him resulting in a predestined humanity. The term star-crossed cannot be taken to explain everything that happens as Shakespeare affords his young lovers many moments of exercising their free will, when a different choice might have resulted in a different outcome, and this is how the struggle is created. Through dramatic irony the audience are always privy to the young lovers friction between their independent choices and the world they were born into. Shakespeare utilises the device of foreshadowing throughout the play, not merely for suspense but to also highlight Romeo and Juliet s awareness of their existence within a more complex framework of humanity. Romeo: My mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in the stars Shall bitterly begin his fearful date With this night s revels (Act 1, Scene 4) Romeo suspects something bad will happen to him. 11

12 Juliet: Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low, As one dead in the bottom of a tomb. (Act 3, Scene 5) Juliet fears death when she and Romeo part. Romeo: Is it e en so? Then I defy you, stars! (Act 5, Scene 1) Romeo challenges fate when he hears of Juliet s death. Fate surrounds Romeo and Juliet: the feud between the two families, the plague holding up the message to Romeo, the hastening of Juliet s marriage to Paris, and finally the timing in the tomb, whereby Romeo drinks the poison and dies before Juliet awakes to find him there. GENERATIONAL CHANGE AND GROWING UP Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie, / And young affection gapes to be his heir (Act 2, Scene 1) These young people are still living in a world where parents make the decisions on marriages, and yet at the same time in one where they wish and expect to decide for themselves. The emphasis on Juliet s young age when she is introduced, and we are told several times that she is about to turn fourteen ( Come Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen (Act 1, Scene 3)), is probably less so the audience will think of her as an innocent ingénue, and more part of a dramatic setup whereby we are primed to be alert to her remarkable growth into a mature and determined woman. Her fascinating character arc, so rapid and yet so decisive, shows a person who achieves in a short time a full understanding of the demands of true love and a mature relationship commitment. In addition, when she says, O, I have bought the mansion of a love, / But not possess d it, and, though I am sold, / Not yet enjoy d (Act 3, Scene 2) she speaks of a marriage based on entirely reciprocal desire - she has both bought and sold in their exchange of vows. She has transcended the ideas about marriage current with her peers to imagine a modern union of equals. Whenever parents communicate with children here the exchange is awkward, aggressive, or marred by the withholding of the younger person s true feelings. In the final moments it is clear to both characters and audience that it is so patently wrong that the young should die before the old that the play could easily be taken as a plea for social change. MASCULINITY Thy head is as full of quarrels as an egg is full of meat (Act 3, Scene 1) Juliet s only friend is her Nurse, but Romeo is seen regularly among a group of similar young men. His relationships with Benvolio, his servant Balthasar, and crucially Mercutio give substance to the audience s understanding of him. While Romeo may die for Juliet, he kills for Mercutio. This is very clearly a world where male bonding is a key element of society. Young men have a long history of both getting into fights, and invoking honour to legitimise their reasons for beating one another to a pulp. Tybalt makes it a matter of honour to attack Romeo, even when his own uncle is unbothered by his presence: Now, by the stock and honour of my kin, / To strike him dead, I hold it not a sin (Act 1, Scene 5). Mercutio sees Romeos conciliatory words to Tybalt as dishonourable ( O calm, dishonourable, vile submission! (Act 3, Scene 1)), and takes it upon himself to fight in his stead, even against Romeo s express wishes. Mercutio s constant, aggressive jesting about the things they should do to women echo precisely the kind of misogynist them-and-us bonding rituals some young men still enact today. Shakespeare does not hesitate to paint the destructive effects of unbridled youthful masculinity. When Romeo appears to be leaving his companions behind and growing up he is his best self, and it is precisely when he is drawn back into their violent, reckless games that he condemns himself and his new wife to tragedy. 12

13 INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR JAMES EVANS The circumstances of this production are quite special. The Players, two teams of four actors from the Actors At Work schools touring programme, will be joining together for an in-theatre production of Romeo And Juliet, visiting Sydney and Melbourne. Director James Evans discusses the features of this special event. WORKING WITHIN THE PARAMETERS I have one very specific restriction on this production and that is that it has to be ninety minutes long, no more, no less. There are a lot of very pragmatic reasons why that has to be but that makes it quite interesting because when you are thrown a restriction like that you can become quite creative within that restriction. I have to think very carefully about editing this play, what is the version of the story of Romeo and Juliet that I want to tell, and what are the bits that unfortunately have to be left out. That balcony scene is stunning, every single word of it, but it s about twice as long as we can afford. So every cut hurts, every cut bleeds, but hopefully the story is all still all there. I want to make sure that there are still long enough passages. Romeo And Juliet is so full of stunning poetry, it s a very poetic play, it s mostly in verse, there s very little prose there at all, and of course when Romeo and Juliet meet they share a perfect sonnet of fourteen lines. I m trying to keep large passages intact so that the poetry flows very naturally. The actors have been working on text and voice and language from the beginning of the year, so I m hoping that they ll be really match fit. Not just physically but their vocal energy and dexterity will be absolutely top notch, and they re ready to tackle this and really relish the language, relish the words as they speak them. We have eight actors who tour around the country delivering all our work for young audiences. There s a lot of quite interesting and creative doubling going on, and I m thinking that I ll make a feature of that. I m not going to try and hide that one actor is Lord Capulet and then becomes the Friar, they might just change on stage in full view of the audience, just with an element that indicates that character, so it s almost a feel of actors in the rehearsal room, telling a story, we re not going to pretend that these actors are really the characters. We ll have daggers and swords. Yes, the actors will be tired after a season spent running up and down stairs, but they ll certainly be fit, and it will be a very exciting, hopefully dynamic version of the play. It s very important to reveal the bones of theatre making and how an actor takes on a character, how an actor physically inhabits a character, how an actor s voice and physicality shifts and changes as they change. I think our young audience will be really interested in that, and it s something that they re talking about a lot in their classrooms, about how plays are made and put together. And also to acknowledge that it s a story, this is one way of sharing a story, it s an ancient art form and we re very privileged to be able to continue it. COMEDY IN TRAGEDY I think it s wonderful that in many of Shakespeare s tragedies before they re a tragedy they re a comedy. Romeo And Juliet in particular, the first couple of acts reads like a rom-com. It s going to be important not to pre-empt the tragedy. When it s funny we play it for what it s worth, and when it turns it turns. This is one of the great strengths of any Shakespearean play, that it can spin 180 degrees in a moment, and I m hoping that that will be a thrilling experience for the audience to go through these highs and lows. VIVID CHARACTERS This play is all about Juliet. She s an extraordinarily young woman who goes on an incredible journey from naive, sheltered young girl to a woman who decides her own destiny. It s interesting that when Romeo and Juliet speak in their balcony she s the one who s saying hang on a sec, isn t this too sudden? Romeo with his impulsiveness pushes forward. She s a very complex character and has deep and loving relationships with her mum, her dad, her nurse and even Tybalt, perhaps. In that wonderful soliloquy Gallop apace, you firey footed steeds you see her coming out of her shell and 13

14 becoming a woman and you see her exploring all those feelings and emotions. There s such a strong push and pull in this play between horrible tragedy and terrible waste of life and the birth of a consciousness. Mercutio, his relationship with Romeo is something I m interested in exploring. Why is he so enamoured of Romeo? What is it about Romeo and Mercutio s relationship that drives Mercutio die for him? Then there s Juliet s parents, the Capulets, again complex characters who absolutely love her and want the best for her, but in the quest for that make some horrible decisions that ultimately lead to her death. I m really interested in finding the complexities of these characters. LOVE Love and romance are obviously front and centre in this play. Shakespeare shows us two different kinds of love. He shows us the shallow, surface lust or puppy love that Romeo has for Rosalie, when he s moping around, then he shows us the deeper true love that he seems to have for Juliet. The way he shows that is through the language. The way the language is structured and the way the poetry develops through the play is a very strong indicator of where Shakespeare s thoughts on love lie, and this seems to be quite romantic. On the other hand he shows the negative aspects of impulsiveness, and surely Romeo and Juliet s death is to be mourned as - perhaps if they d gone out for coffee a few times and got to know each other, none of this would have happened. Shakespeare never sticks with one opinion, he always looks at the mirror, he always looks at the opposite and says, well, if we re celebrating this love affair what else is there? How can we also criticise it? It s a great big mess, hopefully lots of fun, and some tears as well. 14

15 ABOUT THE DESIGN Design concept reflections from Designer Renee Mulder James and I are both interested in creating a playing space that needs to feel confined, restricted and under pressure, a world where tempers can easily flare. A tight and static space full of levels that can transform in an instant from a street, to a balcony to Friar Lawrence s cell. The stage is set with what is essentially bleachers / oversized stairs, kept as down stage as possible so it fills the stage. Down stage means the area closest to the audience, up stage means up the back of the stage. Each level is the width of a corridor (for action) and the height of a seat. The design is still being developed in conjunction with the pre-production artistic process, but at the moment we think they ll look like a crumbling concrete structure - monumental and permanent. There will also be small areas where costume elements and props will be accessed from, in the form of traps/ drawers and cupboards throughout the structure. As the cast are doubling up in the characters they play many transformations that will happen in audience view on set, with the help of a single element such as a hat or a jacket. Renee Mulder s initial concept sketches for the set structure Director James Evans expands on the use of the idea of stairs: In terms of design the image we have in our heads is this gigantic set of stairs because I really want the idea of distance and height, and vertical distance as well as emotional distance to be central in this play. This huge staircase which is two metres tall, and stands almost the entire width of the stage, and then that can be quite a flexible space where the actors can play out a scene on one level or by running up and down it, or in the balcony scene Juliet can be at the top and Romeo can be at the bottom. Also I m envisaging that all the props and the costumes and any bits and pieces that they need will be hidden around the stairs, so they ll be in trapdoors and in drawers folded into the stairs, so that they can just reach in a grab it, again along the lines of the idea that everything they need is there in the world around them to tell this story, they can just reach down and pick something up to tell the story. 15

16 PRE-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY 1 A PAIR OF STAR-CROSS D LOVERS TAKE THEIR LIFE A lot has to happen before Romeo and Juliet meet their untimely end, and the best way to learn a story is to tell it. There is a lot of action in this play, but there are ways to help everyone keep track. Divide the class into five groups. Give each group responsibility for one of the play s five acts. Each group must talk through their assigned act, and make a bullet-point list of the key actions that occur in that act (a meeting, a death, a plan laid). That group must then decide for itself how to present their act: Is the plot summary best conveyed by... talking through a list of bullet points on a smart board a series of quotes pulled out of the text to show the progress of the story sock puppets acting out a mimed-and-narrated or paraphrased, summarised version a series of tableaux, with titles projected on the smart board a rap battle something entirely different? Have the groups make their presentations in the correct order, and by the time they are finished, everyone will know the story of the play. 16

17 PRE-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY 2 COULD WE BUT LEARN FROM WHENCE HIS SORROWS GROW Choose one of the topics listed below and research what it meant to the people who made up the audience of Shakespeare s theatre. Topics Sources Duels of honour and fencing (16th-century fencing, not modern) Courtly love and/or love poetry Marriage traditions of the 16th century The role of religion, and the authority of priests Burial traditions for the nobility Stock characters used in comedy and tragedy Stories relating to young lovers acting in secret What would a feast or ball like the one the Capulets hold have been like? What would a performance in an Elizabethan theatre have been like? OR research past productions of Romeo and Juliet A source is where you got your information. The websites listed in the Resources list included in this pack are an excellent source of high-quality facts and analysis. Remember to make value judgements about how reliable a website looks. University sites are generally very authoritative, and sites that are specific to a topic are usually better than broader encyclopaedic types. Don t forget that books are great sources, too! Include a bibliography where you list all the sources you used. Teachers may choose whether this should be delivered as a written piece, or a ten-minute presentation. 17

18 PRE-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY 3 TIS KNOWN I AM A PRETTY PIECE OF FLESH. No play this huge is about only two people. Although everyone makes a big deal about the titular couple, one of the reasons this play has lasted so long is the vividly drawn support characters. Mercutio, Tybalt, Juliet s Nurse and Mother, Paris, and more - all have distinct personalities, and their own, unique ways of expressing themselves. All these characters are memorable, and it is easy to imagine the lives they would have had outside the play. First: Choose one character in the play other than Romeo or Juliet. Next: Investigate your character. Go through the scenes where your chosen character is present or mentioned and look closely at quotes from the play of lines said by the character quotes from the play of lines said about the character Then: Write a short story about how they spent a day in the weeks leading up to the events of the play. You can write as if you are the character (first person), or tell the story as a narrator (third person). For many, you will be able to use their own descriptions of what they like do to guide you. Friar Lawrence, for example, grows healing herbs. 18

19 ENGLISH NATIONAL CURRICULUM (ACTIVITIES 1, 2 AND 3) Year Strand Codes Explanation Language Literature Literacy Language Literature Literacy ACELA1452 ACELA1453 ACELT1581 ACELT1582 ACELT1584 ACELY1656 ACLEY1655 ACELY1788 ACELY1657 ACELY1660 ACELA1468 ACELA1470 ACELT1589 ACELY1666 ACELY1789 ACELY1667 Explore nouns, adjectives and details such as when, where and how Explore images in narrative and informative texts Discuss how authors create characters using language and images Discuss characters and events in a range of literary texts Discuss features of plot, character and setting Speaking clearly and with appropriate volume; interacting confidently and appropriately with peers, teachers, visitors and community members Respond to texts drawn from a range of experiences Use interaction skills Make short presentations Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning Understand that nouns represent people, place, concrete objects Interpreting new terminology drawing on prior knowledge Compare opinions about characters, events and settings Listen for specific purposes and information Use interaction skills Rehearse and deliver short presentations Language ACELA1483 Learn extended and technical vocabulary Literature Literacy ACELT1596 ACELT1599 ACELY1676 ACELY1679 ACELY1792 ACELY1677 Draw connections between personal experiences and the worlds of texts Discuss how language is used to describe settings in texts Participate in collaborative discussions Reading aloud with fluency and intonation Use interaction skills Plan and deliver short presentations 19

20 Language ACELA1498 Incorporate new vocabulary ACELT1602 Comment on how different authors have established setting and period Literature ACELT1603 Discuss literary experiences with others 4 ACELT1605 Discuss how authors make stories exciting, moving and absorbing ACELY1686 Identify and explain language features of texts from previous times Literacy ACELY1692 Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning ACELY1689 Plan and deliver short presentations Language ACELA1500 ACELA1508 Understand that the pronunciation, spelling and meanings of words have histories and change over time Observing how descriptive details can be built up around a noun or an adjective 5 Literature ACELT1608 Identify aspects of literary texts that convey details and information ACELY1699 Clarify understanding of content as it unfolds Literacy ACELY1796 ACELY1700 Use interaction skills Plan, rehearse and deliver short presentations ACELY1702 Reading a wide range of imaginative texts ACELY1703 Use comprehension strategies to analyse information Language ACELA1523 Understand how ideas can be expanded and sharpened through careful choice of words Literature ACELT1613 Make connections between students own experiences and those of characters and events represented in texts drawn from different historical contexts 6 ACELY1816 Use interaction skills, varying conventions of spoken interactions such as voice volume, tone, pitch and pace Literacy ACELY1710 Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations ACELY1709 Participate in and contribute to discussions ACELY1713 Use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse information and ideas 20

21 PRE-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY 4 O THEN, I SEE QUEEN MAB HATH BEEN WITH YOU. One of the most famous speeches from Romeo And Juliet is spoken by neither of the lovers, and has absolutely nothing to do with the plot. Mercutio s Queen Mab speech describes a fairy queen who brings people dreams. It s a wonderful speech for inspiring all kinds of artwork. The speech falls into two sections, the first in which the Queen and her chariot are described, the second which describes the particular kinds of dreams she brings to different people. Part 1 Use this section as inspiration for a visual arts piece. Use this section as inspiration for a visual arts piece. Circle all the nouns Underline all the adjectives Create a drawing, graphic design or collage that shows Queen Mab s coach either built of or surrounded by the visual clues you have just identified. O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies midwife, and she comes In shape no bigger than an agate-stone On the fore-finger of an alderman, Drawn with a team of little atomies Athwart men s noses as they lie asleep; Her wagon-spokes made of long spiders legs, The cover of the wings of grasshoppers, The traces of the smallest spider s web, The collars of the moonshine s watery beams, Her whip of cricket s bone, the lash of film, Her wagoner a small grey-coated gnat, Not so big as a round little worm Prick d from the lazy finger of a maid; Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub, Time out o mind the fairies coachmakers. 21

22 Part 2 Use this section to create a performance piece. Make a list with two columns, the first of the people mentioned, the second of what their dreams show. When you get towards the end you will find two the Queen visits who are not dreaming: the stable hands who have to untangle their horses hair (N.B. sluttish in this period meant unkempt, messy), and the young women giving birth for the first time. Put these down, too. Break the class into groups and give each a type of person to represent. Have one person be Queen Mab, visiting each of the humans in turn. The groups perform actions to suggest who and what the lines are about. And in this state she gallops night by night Through lovers brains, and then they dream of love; O er courtiers knees, that dream on court sies straight, O er lawyers fingers, who straight dream on fees, O er ladies lips, who straight on kisses dream, Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues, Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are: Sometime she gallops o er a courtier s nose, And then dreams he of smelling out a suit; And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig s tail Tickling a parson s nose as a lies asleep, Then dreams, he of another benefice: Sometime she driveth o er a soldier s neck, And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats, Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades, Of healths five-fathom deep; and then anon Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes, And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two And sleeps again. This is that very Mab That plats the manes of horses in the night, And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs, Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes: This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs, That presses them and learns them first to bear, Making them women of good carriage: This is she Follow-up: Can you combine both parts, along with an interesting way of dividing up the speaking of the lines, to create one big, magnificent, multimedia production? 22

23 POST-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY 1 IN FAIR VERONA WHERE WE LAY OUR SCENE As this production shows, it is not even necessary for this play to be shown as set in a particular, real-world time and place in order for it to work. However, it has been set in a fantasy version of Renaissance Italy for Zeffirelli s film, and in a fantasy version of California for Lurhmann s. Orlando Bloom as Romeo rode in on a motorbike, but it has also been set in tribal Africa, in a Brazilian carnival and as a battle between rival Lithuanian pizza houses! The best way to figure out what elements are vital for this show to work is to think through what else you could do with it. First: Pull out all the mentions you can find in the text of Italy. How often does Italy make itself felt in concrete references? Also, pull out all the mentions of activities that are particular to the medieval or Renaissance period. How often does someone do something that we no longer do? What do these references mean? For example, from the very first scene, what does it mean to bite your thumb at someone? Next: Can you think of somewhere completely different where you could set the play? What would that world look like? How would its people behave? Would anything in the story have to be changed? Think about what you are gaining and what you might lose. In particular consider what these settings would become: the ball the balcony the Capulets tomb Then: Create a presentation showing the design for your chosen setting. Make a folder where one side of the pages shows images, and the other your notes on how they relate to the play. Consider what people are wearing, what their technology, weapons, food and music are like, as well as the spaces themselves. 23

24 DRAMA CURRICULUM (ACTIVITIES PRE-4 AND POST-1) Year Strand Making Codes Explanation 2.2 Explore feelings, ideas, facial expressions, gesture and movement 2.3 Work with others to create imagined situations 2.5 Responding 2.9 Making Share role play, co-operate and follow cues for moving in and out of the space Describe experiences of places or contexts in which drama happens Create roles and relationships, experimenting with facial expression Create dramatic action and place using body, movement, language and voice, varying movement and stillness Offer, accept and negotiate situations in spontaneous improvisation Responding 4.9 Identify features of drama from different times and places 6.1 Imagine and create roles and relationships, convey character 5-6 Making 6.2 Responding 6.9 Create mood and atmosphere through the use of body, movement, language and voice 6.3 Offer, accept and extend situations Identify and describe their drama in relation to different performance styles and contexts 24

25 VISUAL ARTS CURRICULUM (ACTIVITIES PRE-4 AND POST-1) Year Strand Codes Explanation F-2 Making 3-4 Making Recognizing that drawing, painting, objects and spaces represent and express imagination and emotions. Playing with combing images, shapes, patterns and spaces. Using a range of traditional and digital media, materials and processes, exploring the elements of art, craft and design in an imaginative way. Talking about their own visual arts works describing subject matter and ideas and naming features Beginning to acknowledge their own intentions when taking on the role of artist to make arts works. Creating original art works and describing their subject matter, ideas and the features they use. Exploring images, objects, ideas and spaces representing themselves and other in a variety of situations. Combing the qualities of media and material to explore effects. Making choices about the forms and techniques used to best represent the qualities of their subject matter. Talking and writing about their visual art work focusing on the details, intention and the techniques used. Experimenting with available digital technologies to reconstruct visual arts works in relation to other Arts subjects. Responding 4.7 Comparing the use of art making techniques used in their own visual arts works. Identify how they have represented particular people, objects or experiences in their visual arts works. Reflecting on the use of visual and spatial elements in the visual art works. 25

26 5-6 Making Exploring subject matter of personal and social interest from particular viewpoints including issues, activities and events in place, spaces, people, objects and the imaginary world. Using different artistic concept, for example colour, tone, light, scale and abstract, in the interpretation of subject matter. Investigating a range of art-making techniques to explore and develop skills, including traditional and digital technologies. Justifying and refining decision when responding to a creative challenge. Manipulating visual and spatial ideas for different audiences focusing on the details, intentions and techniques. 26

27 POST-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY 2 YOU KISS BY THE BOOK A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines. It was long considered to be the ideal form for love poetry. A common structure is for it to have three brackets of four lines in ABAB rhyming pattern, then conclude with a rhyming couplet, AA. Shakespeare wrote a series of sonnets, unrelated to his plays, but so did virtually every gentleman of any education in this period, and many of the ladies, too. What is exceptional in Romeo and Juliet is the way this literary form shapes a very theatrical moment. When the protagonists first meet they have never seen each other before, but by the end of the scene the playwright needs to get them to the point where they can kiss. How does he generate the conditions for this physical dramatic action? By having them create a sonnet together. Preparation: Use the PowerPoint presentation downloadable at the Bell Shakespeare website to demonstrate how a dramatic conversational exchange can take the form of a poem. The Task: Write a poem that is a dialogue between two people. It does not have to be a sonnet, but if you want to look further into how people have handled this form, Sonnet Central will provide you with everything you could possibly want in model sonnets: Writing from the point of view of two people in love can be easiest in some ways, because they will naturally be feeling in harmony with each other s thoughts, but you could just as effectively write a dialogue between enemies or siblings, a parent and child, or two close friends. The important thing is to have them answer each other in a shared rhythm. 27

28 ENGLISH NATIONAL CURRICULUM Year Strand Codes Explanation Language ACELA1452 ACELA1453 Explore nouns, adjectives and details such as when, where and how Explore images in narrative and informative texts Literature Literacy Language Literature Literacy ACELT1581 ACELT1582 ACELT1584 ACELY1656 ACLEY1655 ACELY1788 ACELY1657 ACELY1660 ACELA1468 ACELA1470 ACELT1589 ACELY1666 ACELY1789 ACELY1667 Discuss how authors create characters using language and images Discuss characters and events in a range of literary texts Discuss features of plot, character and setting Speaking clearly and with appropriate volume; interacting confidently and appropriately with peers, teachers, visitors and community members Respond to texts drawn from a range of experiences Use interaction skills Make short presentations Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning Understand that nouns represent people, place, concrete objects Interpreting new terminology drawing on prior knowledge Compare opinions about characters, events and settings Listen for specific purposes and information Use interaction skills Rehearse and deliver short presentations Language ACELA1483 Learn extended and technical vocabulary Literature Literacy ACELT1596 ACELT1599 ACELY1676 ACELY1679 ACELY1792 ACELY1677 Draw connections between personal experiences and the worlds of texts Discuss how language is used to describe settings in texts Participate in collaborative discussions Reading aloud with fluency and intonation Use interaction skills Plan and deliver short presentations 28

29 Language ACELA1498 Incorporate new vocabulary ACELT1602 Comment on how different authors have established setting and period Literature ACELT1603 Discuss literary experiences with others 4 ACELT1605 Discuss how authors make stories exciting, moving and absorbing ACELY1686 Identify and explain language features of texts from previous times Literacy ACELY1692 Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning ACELY1689 Plan and deliver short presentations Language ACELA1500 ACELA1508 Understand that the pronunciation, spelling and meanings of words have histories and change over time Observing how descriptive details can be built up around a noun or an adjective 5 Literature ACELT1608 Identify aspects of literary texts that convey details and information ACELY1699 Clarify understanding of content as it unfolds Literacy ACELY1796 ACELY1700 Use interaction skills Plan, rehearse and deliver short presentations ACELY1702 Reading a wide range of imaginative texts ACELY1703 Use comprehension strategies to analyse information Language ACELA1523 Understand how ideas can be expanded and sharpened through careful choice of words Literature ACELT1613 Make connections between students own experiences and those of characters and events represented in texts drawn from different historical contexts 6 ACELY1816 Use interaction skills, varying conventions of spoken interactions such as voice volume, tone, pitch and pace Literacy ACELY1710 ACELY1709 Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations Participate in and contribute to discussions ACELY1713 Use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse information and ideas 29

30 POST-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY 3 NOW BY THE STOCK AND HONOUR OF MY KIN TO STRIKE HIM DEAD I HOLD IT NOT A SIN. Hotheaded youths who run into trouble, and prize being skilled at fighting, are themes every bit as ancient as they are current. Do you bite your thumb at me, sir? I ll not endure him. For Mercutio s soul / Is but a little way above our heads, / Staying for thine to keep him company. Investigating the scenes that show conflict is as valuable for understanding this play as looking at the romance. Put the students in groups to complete the following tasks. The following pages show three edited passages from the play. Two have three speaking roles and one has two. In the last extract only the two speaking characters are present, but the other scenes can include more surrounding characters, if some students would prefer non-speaking roles. Look up the meaning of any unfamiliar words. Many are archaic, so may have changed in their meaning over time. Write down the definitions so you are clear about them. All these passages show some kind of conflict or argument. What is the source of disagreement? What are the people in your scene arguing about? Is the scene in verse or prose? What imagery is used? What literary techniques can you identify? Is there any humour in the passages? Which bits are funny, and why? For each character in the scene, write down everything you can tell about them from this passage alone. Next, stage the scene: Read the lines out loud several times, discussing with your partner what is the most effective tempo, volume, mood, and whether the characters are close, far apart, touching, moving. Put it on its feet. Does anything change? Where are you looking when you speak or listen? Show the class. Follow-up: Discuss where the scenes were similar and where different. What was effective? Which characters were sympathetic or appealing? What messages were communicated? What other scenes of conflict in the play can you identify? How are they similar or different from the scenes just performed? Has anyone learnt anything about the way people carry themselves or interact when they challenge, compete or fight? 30

31 Act 1, Scene 1 GREGORY SAMPSON GREGORY SAMPSON GREGORY SAMPSON GREGORY SAMPSON Draw thy tool! Here comes two of the house of the Montagues. My naked weapon is out: quarrel, I will back thee. How! Turn thy back and run? Fear me not. No, marry; I fear thee! Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin. I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they list. Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them, which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it. Enter ABRAHAM and BALTHASAR ABRAHAM SAMPSON ABRAHAM SAMPSON GREGORY SAMPSON GREGORY ABRAHAM SAMPSON ABRAHAM SAMPSON GREGORY SAMPSON ABRAHAM SAMPSON Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? I do bite my thumb, sir. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? Is the law of our side, if I say ay? No. No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I bite my thumb, sir. Do you quarrel, sir? Quarrel sir! No, sir. If you do, sir, I am for you: I serve as good a man as you. No better? Well, sir. Say better : here comes one of my master s kinsmen. Yes, better, sir. You lie. Draw, if you be men. Gregory, remember thy swashing blow. They fight 31

32 Act 3, Scene 1 (edited) TYBALT Gentlemen, good den: a word with one of you. MERCUTIO And but one word with one of us? Couple it with something; make it a word and a blow. TYBALT MERCUTIO TYBALT MERCUTIO TYBALT ROMEO TYBALT ROMEO MERCUTIO TYBALT MERCUTIO You shall find me apt enough to that, sir, an you will give me occasion. Could you not take some occasion without giving? Mercutio, thou consort st with Romeo, Consort! What, dost thou make us minstrels? An thou make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords: here s my fiddlestick; here s that shall make you dance. Zounds, consort! Enter ROMEO Well, peace be with you, sir: here comes my man. Romeo, the hate I bear thee can afford No better term than this thou art a villain. Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee Doth much excuse the appertaining rage To such a greeting: villain am I none. Therefore farewell; I see thou know st me not. Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries That thou hast done me, therefore turn and draw. I do protest, I never injured thee, But love thee better than thou canst devise, Till thou shalt know the reason of my love. And so, good Capulet, which name I tender As dearly as my own, be satisfied. O calm, dishonourable, vile submission! Alla stoccado carries it away. Draws Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk? What wouldst thou have with me? Good King of Cats, nothing but one of your nine lives. Will you pluck your sword out of his pilcher by the ears? Make haste, lest mine be about your ears ere it be out. TYBALT I am for you. Drawing ROMEO Gentle Mercutio, put thy rapier up. MERCUTIO Come, sir, your passado. They fight 32

33 Act 5, Scene 3 PARIS This is that banish d haughty Montague That murder d my love s cousin, with which grief, It is supposed, the fair creature died; And here is come to do some villainous shame To the dead bodies: I will apprehend him. Comes forward Stop thy unhallow d toil, vile Montague! Can vengeance be pursued further than death? Condemned villain, I do apprehend thee. Obey and go with me, for thou must die. ROMEO PARIS ROMEO I must indeed, and therefore came I hither. Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man. Fly hence and leave me: think upon these gone; Let them affright thee. I beseech thee, youth, Put not another sin upon my head By urging me to fury. O, be gone! By heaven, I love thee better than myself; For I come hither arm d against myself. Stay not, be gone; live, and hereafter say A madman s mercy bade thee run away. I do defy thy conjurations And apprehend thee for a felon here. Wilt thou provoke me? Then have at thee, boy! They fight 33

34 POST-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY 4 ALL THESE WOES SHALL SERVE FOR SWEET DISCOURSES IN OUR TIMES TO COME Romeo and Juliet meet four times in the play before their death scene together in the Capulet family tomb. Act 1 scene 5 Act 2 scene 2 Act 2 scene 6 Act 3 scene 5 the Capulets feast the balcony scene their wedding their early morning farewell after their sole night together (the aubade) In 1.5 and 2.6 the couple speak only a few lines to each other, leaving two substantial scenes in which the audience gets to see them develop a genuine and complex relationship (things always happen too fast in Shakespeare). The Task: Divide the class into groups of four or five. Give the groups plenty of time to look through the four scenes in which Romeo and Juliet converse, and talk them through with one another. The questions they should discussing are what the lines mean, how effective they are, and what they contribute to the action of the play or the understanding of the characters. Groups should highlight their SIX favourite lines of Juliet s and SIX of Romeo s. For the purpose of this exercise a line means a full sentence, not an isolated verse line. All the groups should then take turns to read their chosen lines aloud to the class. Discuss: Which lines appeared in several groups selections? Were there any surprising choices? What do the lines tell us about the characters speaking them? Or about love? You could have groups defend their choices, and then vote on the most convincing. 34

35 DRAMA CURRICULUM (ACTIVITIES 3 & 4) Year Strand Codes Explanation Making Responding 2.9 Making Responding 4.9 Making Responding 6.9 Explore feelings, ideas, facial expressions, gesture and movement Work with others to create imagined situations Share role play, co-operate and follow cues for moving in and out of the space Describe experiences of places or contexts in which drama happens Create roles and relationships, experimenting with facial expression Create dramatic action and place using body, movement, language and voice, varying movement and stillness Offer, accept and negotiate situations in spontaneous improvisation Identify features of drama from different times and places Imagine and create roles and relationships, convey character Create mood and atmosphere through the use of body, movement, language and voice 6.3 Offer, accept and extend situations Identify and describe their drama in relation to different performance styles and contexts 35

36 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES The best version of Romeo And Juliet for school students to use is the Cambridge School edition: Robert Smith / Rex Gibson / Vicki Wienand / Richard Andrews (Eds), Cambridge School Shakespeare Romeo And Juliet (2014, Cambridge University Press) However, the RSC version is also excellent and simple to follow, the Arden more thorough, but challenging as the support material is very dense. Books with good exercises for teachers to use to introduce Shakespeare: Bayley, P., An A-B-C Of Shakespeare (1985, Longman Group) Gibson, Rex, Stepping Into Shakespeare (2000, Cambridge University Press) Gibson, Rex, Discovering Shakespeare s Language (1998, Cambridge University Press) Winston, Joe and Miles Tandy, Beginning Shakespeare (2012, Routledge) General information: Chubbuck, I, The Power Of The Actor (2005, Currency Press) Crystal, David & Ben Crystal, Shakespeare s Words: A Glossary & Language Companion, (2002, Penguin Books) Dunton-Downer, Leslie & Alan Riding, Essential Shakespeare Handbook (2013, Fantasia, Dorling Kindersley) Jackson, Russell, Players of Shakespeare 2 (1988, Cambridge University Press) Fantasia, Louis, Instant Shakespeare (2002, Ivan R. Dee) Wells, Stanley, Is It True What They Say About Shakespeare? (2007, Long Barn Books) Some websites (besides ours!) with great resources: The second series of Shakespeare Uncovered includes an episode on Romeo And Juliet narrated by Joseph Fiennes: Shakespeare Unbound is a video series made up of 12 scenes from six of Shakespeare s most famous plays, including Romeo And Juliet, paired with 12 commentaries from the director and cast that unpack the meaning of the work in a way that is relevant for Australian students. The BBC s Shakespeare Unlocked series includes material on this play: Shakespeare s Globe in London has a very comprehensive Education section: The Royal Shakespeare Company has plot summaries and records of previous productions: The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has some fun blogs and other bits and pieces: Shakespeare Online is a commercial site, but the information is reliable: The Touchstone database is very UK-focused, but has some amazing images from a huge number of productions of all Shakespeare s plays: Sonnet Central will provide you with everything you could possibly want in model sonnets: 36