Introduction
Romeo and Juliet is one of the most recognized stories in the history of literature. Despite being written for the 16th-century European audience, it remains relevant today due to its universal themes – love, revenge, and fate. Unsurprisingly, this story continues to be retold in new formats.
Bijan Sheibani and Ben Power continue this tradition with their own interpretation of the famous Shakespearean piece. The play was performed at the National Dorfman Theatre in London, which demanded certain structural changes. Understanding what creative decisions the director has made is essential in ascertaining their effect on the overall performance.
Analysis of the Modern Interpretation of the Play
Duration
The first aspect influencing the production of the play is time. This version is slightly longer than one hour, necessitating significant deviations from the source material (Romeo and Juliet, 2017). First, numerous characters are cut from the story – the original script has twenty-two characters. This version reduces the overall number to ten, some of whom are compound characters. For instance, Sister Lawrence, who helps Romeo and Juliet marry, is not in the original script. She replaces the cleric Friar Lawrence, who allows marriage to transpire secretly (Summary of Romeo and Juliet, n.d.).
Similarly, Montague and Lady Montague are presented as Mrs. Montague, the same as condensing Capulet and Lady Capulet into Mrs. Capulet (Romeo and Juliet – Learning Pack, n.d.). These decisions are important because they remove depth from these characters, especially from Lord Capulet, who actually believed that Juliet could choose her suitor herself. Nevertheless, time constraints force the director to cut many secondary characters.
Genre Inconsistency
The second problem with the play is its inability to remain within the framework of a single genre. The original Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, marked by a pervasive sense of apprehension throughout the story. Meanwhile, Power and Sheibani’s play starts as a comedic story. The first scene lacks drama and is intended to entertain the child audience with a grotesque portrayal of characters, particularly the Capulets.
One of them wears inappropriate headwear for the scene and the character. The interactions between the Montagues and Capulets, which initially were meant to emphasize the deep enmity between the families, are portrayed as entertaining, evoking laughter from the audience (Romeo and Juliet, 2017, 2:20). The introduction of Romeo and subsequent dialogue with Mercutio ridicules Romeo for the audience’s entertainment.
In fact, it is not until the scene where Romeo meets Juliet that the tone starts to change toward romantic. The second part of the play is performed in primarily dark and purple colors. The lovers’ confessions for each other, vows, and marriage are all made in a darkly lit environment with intense purple lighting, which creates associations with love. The second part shifts to the growing tension between the families, set against a brightly lit scene. The final part returns to the romantic colors, with the death scenes performed under intense red lighting. Overall, the use of light is consistent throughout the play, helping the directors accentuate the story, character emotions, and atmosphere.
However, the use of lighting also accentuates thematic inconsistency. The play begins as a comedy, shifting into a romance story that escalates tension and is brought to a conclusion with a tragic ending. It is structured as a love story with a tragic ending, while the source is, first and foremost, a tragedy. However, constant shifts in tone obscure the audience’s perception of the story’s themes. The final part lacks comedic relief, starkly contrasting with the opening scenes, which are filled with humorous actions, phrases, and behaviors. As a result, the tone is inconsistent, as the directors were unable to decide on a target genre.
Flawed Performance
The third problem is the cast’s performance, which is not devoid of mistakes. Overall, the actors’ performances are convincing but have some noticeable flaws. Several subtle inconsistencies prompt the audience to question the actors’ ability to remember their lines and actions. For instance, at 1:06:47, an actor’s facial performance changes as he gestures toward his in-universe opponent, a notable departure from his character’s demeanor in this scene (Romeo and Juliet, 2017).
Romeo’s initial appearance, dialogue, and behavior are less expressive than those of other actors’ performances. It is especially evident in the first scene between Mercutio and Romeo, in which Mercutio’s actor gets the most attention, while it should be Romeo (Romeo and Juliet, 2017, 6:10). However, the lack of diversity of facial expressions makes the artistic capabilities of Romeo’s actor seem limited, even though he performs better in later scenes.
Visual Elements
The visual component of the play is an integral part of the director’s decisions. The non-conventional use of the environment allows the audience to experience the story from an unusual angle. This is made possible by the square shape of the stage. The audience surrounds the stage from at least three sides. On the one hand, the viewers are closer to the stage and actors and have vivid exposure to the play. It is different from a classic theatre, where the audience experiences the story from the same angle, and the fourth wall concept is utilized directly.
On the other hand, this setup creates difficulties for the cast in keeping the entire audience equally engaged. One of the essential parts of any live performance is preventing the viewers from looking at the actors’ backs during important scenes. The audience’s location around the stage inevitably leads to performers showing their backs to some viewers for a prolonged time, as is evident in the scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet each other (Romeo and Juliet, 2017, 21:13).
As a result, actors have to constantly change their position by rotating. Although it does add dynamism to the performance, in some cases, too much movement distracts from the plot, as exemplified by the opening monologue by Mercutio’s actor (Romeo and Juliet, 2017, 1:06:47). The attention is distributed unevenly among the viewers, which may negatively impact perception.
Another problem stems from the small size of the stage. The location of the viewers necessitates the small size of the square. The larger the stage is, the less some viewers can see. Yet, aside from the benefit of better exposure, there is another obstacle – the crew is limited in their movements, which is especially apparent in group scenes. Furthermore, scenes that contain action, such as a fight between Mercutio and Tybalt, seem artificial due to the small space available. Actors must make illogical movements to prevent themselves from falling off the stage and returning to the center.
Another visual component is the characters’ costumes, which are supposed to match the apparel of Renaissance Italy. Instead, actors are dressed in a mix of modern and old-fashioned clothes. However, some characters, especially the Capulets, have costumes reminiscent of punk culture. Meanwhile, Romeo’s apparel involves breaches and a shirt, with him wearing headphones in one scene (Romeo and Juliet, 2017, 5:23).
Modern devices are used throughout the play, such as a loudspeaker in the hands of the Prince of Verona at 3:49 and a smartphone in the hands of Mercutio at 1:26 (Romeo and Juliet, 2017, 5:23). Although these visual elements suggest the modern interpretation of the original play, they may break immersion in the story’s context.
Distorted Messages
The most important issue with the play is that it wrongly interprets Shakespeare’s messages. This version revolves around romantic love being disturbed by the family feud. In essence, the tragic ending is portrayed as the responsibility of families who were too intent on opposing each other rather than allowing the feelings of Romeo and Juliet to flourish publicly. The subsequent implication is that Romeo and Juliet are victims of fate, which teaches children a corresponding lesson. Judging by the play’s content, the audience learns that passion and romantic love are more important values than family opinions.
However, the original Shakespeare’s plays did not advance romantic love as a prevailing value. One of the most important and commonly missed points about the original Romeo and Juliet is that it warns the audience against unrestrained romantic infatuations. Shakespeare’s play is not only a tragedy but also a satire. The entire plot revolves around two lovers’ unreasonable actions, which lead to violence and their eventual suicide. The familial feud is a backdrop to the complexities of the primary relationship. Yet, the characters’ inability to control their passion is the reason behind the tragic outcome.
This subtlety is entirely missing from Sheibani and Power’s interpretations. Numerous lines indicate the director’s emphasis on love, such as “nothing can be ill if she be well” at 58:04 and “never was a story more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo” at 1:06:47 (Romeo and Juliet, 2017). The conclusion of the play is accompanied by a dance between Romeo and Juliet within a circle in the form of a heart. As a result, the play advocates for the prevailing importance of love and frames it as the most essential value, while other struggles are mere obstacles.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet by Power and Sheibani is an immersive and entertaining play that misses the point of the tragedy. Unusual creative choices, such as the stage in a square, a mix of clothing, and modern equipment, increase the entertainment value while possibly affecting the suspension of disbelief. The play does not follow a consistent theme, which creates a dissonance in the viewers’ perception, who may not be sure if this is a comedy, a romance, or a tragedy. Finally, this interpretation’s ultimate lesson differs from Shakespeare’s original intention, which was to warn against the dangers of unrestrained love.
References
Romeo and Juliet. (2017). Web.
Romeo and Juliet – Learning Pack. (n.d.). Web.
Summary of Romeo and Juliet. (n.d.). Web.