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Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet - performance analysis

Part of EnglishRomeo and Juliet

Performance analysis

There are many different ways to interpret and perform Shakespeare’s plays. Watch the videos and decide how you would perform the three scenes from Romeo and Juliet.

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Scenes to explore

Romeo and Juliet is a play about love, fighting and the idea that the character’s lives, and their deaths, are somehow already decided. In Shakespeare’s day, the stage would have been bare, the props few, and the lighting would depend upon the weather. Theatres were open air and the plays were held in daylight.

Nowadays, Shakespeare’s plays are interpreted in many different ways on stage and screen. Directors and their production teams make choices on how they want to stage the play and how the characters will deliver their lines. The decisions they make can often change how the audience think and feel about the play and the characters in it.

Let’s look at three scenes and explore the possibilities for an exciting and unforgettable performance of Romeo and Juliet.

  • Act 2 Scene 2 - The balcony scene
  • Act 3 Scene 1 - Mercutio’s fight with Tybalt
  • Act 5 Scene 3 - The tomb
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Act 2 Scene 2 - The balcony scene

In Act 2 Scene 2, Romeo hides in the Capulet orchard, hoping to catch another glimpse of Juliet. The two then exchange vows of love in the famous ‘balcony scene’.

This video shows a group of actors auditioning to play the part of Romeo. As you watch, consider the following:

  • how the audience would react to these different interpretations of Romeo
  • how these different interpretations would change the way Juliet acted
  • how you would get Romeo to act
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Act 3 Scene 1 – Mercutio’s fight with Tybalt

In Act 3 Scene 1, Tybalt approaches Romeo and his friends and challenges him to a fight. Romeo refuses because he is secretly married to Tybalt’s cousin, Juliet. How might you stage a modern version of this fight scene? How would you use the stage design to get across the idea of two warring sides? There are many possibilities for a director to consider.

'Romeo and Juliet' - How would you interpret Mercutio's fight with Tybalt?

This video shows a group of stage designers pitching ideas on how to stage this scene. As you watch, consider the following:

  • what a modern interpretation of the fight might look like
  • whether it's more Tybalt than Mercutio who gets the fight going
  • whether you would make the fight serious or funny and what effect you think this would have on the audience
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Act 5 Scene 3 – The tomb

At the end of the play, Juliet awakens from her fake death sleep to discover Romeo by her side. He is dead. She tries to drink the last of his poison, and then stabs herself with his dagger.

'Romeo and Juliet' - How would you stage Juliet's awakening in the tomb?

This video shows a group of actors rehearsing the scene and the director is trying out different ways to perform it. As you watch, consider the following:

  • how you would make sure the audience views this scene as dramatic and serious
  • the kind of props for the poison and dagger that would make this scene look realistic
  • how Juliet would act when she wakes up and sees Romeo dead
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More on Romeo and Juliet

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