In my 2010 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet I asked three female actors to share the stage simultaneously as three aspects of a single character.
They were Juliet: Innocent child - rebellious teen - passionate woman.
Crossing the thresholds of a young adult life together, those three actors gave us new insights into a complex and intriguing character.
The strength and subtly of Juliet’s relationships:
with her Nurse,
with her father and mother, Lord & Lady Capulet,
and of course, with her first and only love, Romeo
- is one of the true tests of this play.
Many modern interpretations of Romeo and Juliet place the main emphasis on the romantic theme of first love, forgetting that in Shakespeare’s time, this was a cautionary tale.
The lives of everyone connected to this young couple are profoundly affected by their secret love and untimely deaths.
Passion has ruled and ruined many lives.
Four hundred years after it was written Romeo and Juliet still has truths to tell us.