In the scene in which Friar Lawrence tells Romeo to go and tell Juliet that he has to leave Verona (act 3 scene 4), he and Juliet spend the night together, the audience know this from the stage direction, “Enter Romeo and Juliet aloft at the window”, when both are discussing whether it’s the lark or the nightingale they can hear. Meanwhile Capulet and Paris are arranging the final date of the wedding, Capulet apologising that he hasn’t had a chance to speak to Juliet about it as she is “ Mewed up to her heaviness” over the death of her cousin Tybalt. This shows that Capulet is not a heartless father, he just doesn’t like to be disobeyed, and it is now clear to the audience why Capulet over-reacted when Juliet refused to marry Paris. This is also a sense of dramatic irony as the audience knows that Juliet is not crying over Tybalt but she is actually having a night of passion with Romeo.
The scene opens in Juliet’s bedroom with her on her bed centre stage, from the girly interior it shows to the audience how young and dependent she is. Juliet is looking shocked by her mother’s news, her mother being to the left and the nurse to the right of the bed. Capulet enters right of stage, he has a cane as an aid of support, he stands quite close to Lady Capulet and he delivers his first line. He would be stunned with the reply from Lady Capulet “I would the fool were married to her grave”, and puzzled, he then responds gently with “Soft…” as he clearly thinks this is harsh. Although when Juliet tells him that she doesn’t want to marry, Capulet doesn’t understand so “chopt-logic”, would be changed to “nonsense” when Capulet delivers the line “Out you baggage”, he pushes her backwards with his cane forcing her to tumble off the bed, now on her knees she pleads with him “Good father…”. Capulet breaks her speech and as he bellows “out on her, hilding” he strikes Juliet across the face, and she stumbles to the floor again, the reason I would have Juliet treated this way, is because the audience is not able to see the actors’ facial expressions so these actions have to be performed so it is gripping as well as clear to the audience the anger that Capulet feels. Nurse tries to prevent Capulet from hurting Juliet, even Lady Capulet tries to protest by shouting “you are too hot”, and this calms him slightly. Capulet then turns towards the left of the stage and delivers his final speech in this scene, “Godsbread…”, as he continues he uses iambic pentameter, this usually signifies importance or an emotional incident, to enhance this to the audience he would use his cane to pound the wooden stage, clearly developing the rhythm, as Shakespeare intended. In this final speech he gives Juliet an alternative, that she either marries Paris or she refuses and is rejected from her home and by her family. Capulet exits without looking back. Juliet is left sobbing on the stage at her mother’s feet, as she then begs with her “Cast me not away”, before Lady Capulet exits she gives a look of disgust and replies with her last line, she departs from the stage abruptly. Juliet has now been abandoned by both parents although not one of them asked her why she was against marriage.
Not many people believe in arranged marriages anymore, so it is unlikely that the audience at the Marina has someone in it who does, but arranged marriages still exist in some cultures around the world. Hopefully my production will remind the audience that there should be communication between the generations, and that older generations should listen to younger people, this is involved with moral and social reasons and should be followed to avoid tragic consequences, such as in Romeo and Juliet.