How would you stage Act 1, Scene 1 of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to a modern audience?
How would you stage Act 1, Scene 1 of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to a modern audience?
In Romeo and Juliet, the play is set in the 1590’s, which is a very different way of life than today. So to make the play appeal to an audience of today it needs to be altered a little. I would set it in England. In the bustling city of Newcastle outside of St James’s Park (Newcastle United’s Football Ground). The trouble will occur between two groups of rival football supporters, which are Newcastle (Montague) and Liverpool (Capulet). Two supporters of Liverpool will play the roles of Sampson and Gregory. They will be sitting down outside the stadium waiting for the match to start with a bottle of vodka in a brown paper bag. One will be wearing a black Liverpool coat and blue jeans and the other will wear a Liverpool t-shirt and black jeans. They joke together and boast that they are superior to the Newcastle supporters “Me they shall feel while I am able to stand, and ‘tis known I am a pretty piece of flesh.”
