At the risk of sounding insensitive, now what?
Romeo and Juliet are dead, made martyrs by love and circumstance, their bodies lie cold and still in the tomb. A truce has been enforced by Prince Escalus, and between those two fine households of Verona – the Capulets and Montagues – an uneasy peace reigns. After years of bitter conflict, playing nice isn’t anybodys forte, and so history looks set to repeat itself. So get comfortable, because for you and I, this is all good news.
It means sword fights, star-crossed lovers, trials, tribulations and the occasional wandering ghost - clearly a play worth watching.
I caught up with Tracy Holsinger from The Wendy Whatmore Academy of Speech and Drama and Director of the school’s latest production After Juliet. Explaining that the action takes place over the course of a single day, Tracy says that the play is built around a few minor characters who were last seen hanging-around backstage in Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet. This mass promotion from nonentity to star, is essential. What else is a playwright to do? After all, as Tracy points out, all the old leads are dead.
Remember Benvolio Montague? Romeo’s best friend is now in love with Romeo’s ex-flame Rosaline. But things are complicated not only by the fact that Rosaline is a Capulet, but also by her unflagging love for Romeo. Currently bent on revenge, Rosaline has little patience for sweet nothings and is instead focused on war. Thrown into the mix is Valentine, Mercutio’s twin brother. While the three take centre stage, in the background those who aided and abetted Romeo and Juliet - the nurse, the friar, Romeo’s servant Peter and the apothecary - are put on trial.
The Capulet women are the focus of the play. “All the characters are incredibly young and the same thing is true here,” says Tracy explaining that her cast of 15 to 19-year-olds are all playing their actual ages. Still these are the school’s senior students and it’s far from an easy play. “It’s not a musical and it’s not fluffy,” says Tracy frankly. In particular, the play rushes forward to grapple with issues that are relevant to Sri Lanka today. But it’s the abrupt cessation of hostilities after decades of conflict that will really strike a chord. In the immediate aftermath, we are given no reassurance that the peace will hold.
Still, in the tradition of the Bard, the play features several scenes designed to provide a little comic relief – the banter between Benvolio and Valentine, and even the ferocity of the Capulet women are all laced with humour.
After Juliet was written by award-winning playwright Sharman McDonald, who incidentally is actress Keira Knightley’s mother, while the actress happened to play Rosaline in the first production of it. In Colombo, we’re to be amply compensated by a dynamic young cast consisting both of current students and recent graduates from the Academy. Counted among the cast are Rajeev Ponweera, Suren Gnanaraj, Ruvin de Silva, Feroze Ahamed, Tehani Welgama, Nihara Perera and Carlene de Fry.
Tracy has her cast talking in casual, colloquial accents, and plans to localise the play as much as possible. “I want people to feel like it could be happening here,” she says. That a sequel to the play is being written at all remains testament to Shakespeare’s genius and his enduring appeal. “You can see what they meant when they said ‘he was for all time’,” says Tracy.
After Juliet will be staged at the Lionel Wendt from August 21-23, at 7:30 pm. Tickets priced at Rs.300/, 500/, 750/ and 1000/- will be available for sale at the Wendt from August 10 onwards. While the electronic media sponsors for the performance are Yes FM and MTV, the print media sponsors will be The Daily Mirror and The Sunday Times.
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