The expected life span of people in those days was much lower than today’s as well, the average person living to only 50 years of age, so it should not surprise you that in this play Juliet is having sexual intercourse and getting married at only 13 years of age as they simply did not have the time, therefore this would have been common custom also. When I say it was a hierarchal society, I mean the people were usually split into high respected wealthy figures or poor, unknown peasants and usually the wealthy are that way as they own land, the ‘real estate’ of the time, passed down through generations to collect rent off those who stay on it. In this case of this play the wealthy people are the Capulets and Montagues, the poor are the townsfolk and servants and the person higher than everyone is The Prince, who has the power to execute anyone who disturbs the peace.
In the first scene, Juliet's bedroom, I’m going to have her bedroom very feminine as she is still a young girl, quite a dimly lit room at first the walls all light creamy white in colour with light coloured wood flooring and pink tinted thick netted drapes over the window, blurring out most of the light at the start until Romeo first gets up from the handsome grand four poster bed with Juliet lying in it to swish aside these drapes to let the sun flow in through the large room height balcony archway. To produce this effect, I am going to have dim lights all round until this point when I am going to turn on fully only the lights that are pointing inwards into the room on the stage through the window. This will then illuminate clearer the other items in the room like a large oak wardrobe and dressing table with large mirror and (lead) make-up and various perfumes placed on it. Then lines 1-25 will commence, where Romeo knows really that it is the lark, signalling either his leave or mortal danger, not the nightingale as Juliet so protests to begin with, meaning it was still night and he could stay, but he still stays. He knows staying would put him in danger of execution, but his love (or lust?) for Juliet shines through here particularly when he says “Let me be tane, let me be put to death”. At this Juliet comes to her senses and tries to usher Romeo away quickly.
Then the Nurse who is quite dirty and wearing layered patchwork cloth bustles in out of breath warning Romeo and Juliet of lady Capulet’s soon arrival, looking over her shoulder nervously. After a long-winded farewell Romeo finally leaves, much to the dismay of Juliet who proceeds to make a prediction that that was their last meeting. I envisage this monologue to be spoken with Juliet under a spotlight, a blank look on her face while she is sitting bolt upright in bed with silent tears running down her face.
In struts Lady Capulet in a prim and proper fashion and the lights go back to streaming through the window, dressed smartly in a dark violet gown, saying “Ho, daughter, are you up?” quickly and sharply in a slightly accusatory tone. Lady Capulet mistakes her tears of grief for Romeo for tears of mourning for Tybalt and then slightly scolds Juliet for pondering over it too long and then her voice will turn vindictive as she is talking about killing Romeo. The lights will dim and turn red and a smoke machine will come on to make the scene deadlier, and when Juliet cries harder at this her voice will turn to angry at Juliet, maybe because she hoped that would cheer her up, but when Juliet refuses to get married Lady Capulet’s voice will get to shouting angry stage and dares her to question Lord Capulet about the matter.
In marches Lord Capulet supremely in a maroon tunic and neck ruff with the bustling nurse tagging behind and the lights again go back to streaming through the window, a smug smile across his face oblivious that he was bursting into a heated argument but when he sees Lady Capulet towering over Juliet who is in tears the smile fades demanding in an equally towering voice as to why Juliet is crying. As he finds out what has been going on he becomes angry and advances on Juliet threatening to beat her, he raises his hand and the lights suddenly dim to black and when they come back on after a second or two, the Nurse has jumped over Juliet protecting her saying “God in heaven bless her! You are to blame, my Lord, to rate her so”. Capulet then turns his anger to the Nurse instead and then Capulet comes across his long monologue insulting and degrading Juliet, at which the lights will dim and he will be under a red spotlight, after which he will exit with a swish of his tunic.
After Lord Capulet is gone the lights will once again return to normal, streaming in through the open window and Juliet will get and of bed and fall onto her knees at her mother’s feet with her hands clenched together pleading with her mother for help. Lady Capulet looks down her nose at Juliet as if she was a peasant and immediately refuses, exiting.
Only Juliet and the Nurse are left in the bedroom and Juliet returns to her bed crying asking the nurse for advice, her voice muffled through her pillow as she cries into it. The Nurse then continues on to side with her parents, saying forget about Romeo. Juliet stops her crying and the lights dim as she looks up at the Nurse looking betrayed, as she has just lost the only person who knew what was really going on. Juliet then acts as though she listened and taken in what the Nurse said and tells her to go tell Lord Capulet that she will marry Paris after all. Even though this is what the Nurse recommended, I think she doesn’t really mean what she said and she looks quite put out as she exits.
Juliet gets up out of bed and hurries to the door to make sure she’s gone then closes the bedroom door. Lights dim and the spotlight falls onto Juliet who curses the nurse for saying what she said and hurries off to Friar Lawrence’s cell. Lights dim to black.
That concludes act III scene v and overall I hope the play will be recognised as a good interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Hopefully the audience will be able to sympathize and get involved into the play and not just remember it as that same old play that you studied back at school but to understand the deeper, meaningful sides to the play of Romeo and Juliet.
