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Romeo and juliet, common sense media reviewers.

Tragic teen love story stands the test of time.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Romeo and Juliet is often the first Shakespeare pl

Many lives are lost because the Montagues and Capu

Friar Lawrence is a kind friend who wants to help

In the first scene in the play, Capulets and Monta

Shakespeare's clever wordplay often includes refer

There are a couple of references to drinking wine.

Parents need to know that Romeo and Juliet is often the first Shakespeare play that middle- or high-school students read. It's a tragic, romantic story about two young lovers who get caught in the crossfire of their parents' conflict. Shakespearean language can be challenging to read, especially at first, and…

Educational Value

Romeo and Juliet is often the first Shakespeare play that young people read, and it's an excellent introduction to the language and rhythm of his works. Also, Shakespeare's plots, and many of his lines, reappear across many generations of literature; reading Shakespeare is part of a great foundation for further study.

Positive Messages

Many lives are lost because the Montagues and Capulets can't settle their differences in a civilized manner. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet shows how innocence and love can become casualties of hatred.

Positive Role Models

Friar Lawrence is a kind friend who wants to help Romeo unite with his beloved Juliet, and Juliet's nurse is likewise devoted to her young mistress, but both provide more help than guidance. Capulet and Montague are loving parents, but set a very poor example with their incivility. Romeo and Juliet risk their lives and familial relationships for love, which is admirable in a way, but it can't be ignored that they have only just met.

Violence & Scariness

In the first scene in the play, Capulets and Montagues goad each other into a fierce sword battle. Later, after Capulet's cousin Tybalt argues with and stabs Mercutio, Romeo is baited into an argument with Tybalt and kills him with his sword. At the end of the play, there are two more sword deaths and a suicide by poison.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Shakespeare's clever wordplay often includes references to body parts and sex acts -- the words "maidenhead" and "whore" are used creatively, for example. This bawdy language is often highlighted with physical gesturing when the play is staged, but the book is more clever than suggestive. Actual sex, other than kissing, takes place "off-screen," in that we only know Romeo and Juliet spend one night together as husband and wife because we see them part early the next morning.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Romeo and Juliet is often the first Shakespeare play that middle- or high-school students read. It's a tragic, romantic story about two young lovers who get caught in the crossfire of their parents' conflict. Shakespearean language can be challenging to read, especially at first, and newcomers would do best with a well-annotated edition that explains difficult words and constructions. Romeo and Juliet includes little inappropriate sexual content or profanity, but there are a few very violent scenes in which major characters are run through with swords. Director Franco Zeffirelli's beautiful 1968 film version is very true to the play, and well worth seeing. A much more modern and artful, but brutal, film starring Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio was well received when it came out in 1996. It's also worth checking out the 1961 musical film West Side Story , which was based on this timeless play.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

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Based on 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet takes place in Verona, Italy, where the houses of Capulet and Montague are in conflict. Each of these older men commands the loyalty of numerous friends and family members, and the factions battle in the city streets. The town is ruled by Prince Escalus, who warns the citizens that he will not tolerate any further bloodshed and mayhem from the opposing factions. Capulet's daughter, Juliet, and Montague's son, Romeo, meet at a feast held by Capulet and fall in love. The two are sweethearts are determined to be together despite the division between their families, and they secretly marry. Romeo is later goaded into fighting with Capulet's cousin Tybalt, who is stabbed and killed. Romeo is then banished from Verona. Meanwhile, Capulet wants Juliet to marry another man, and Juliet knows she can't tell her parents whom she has already married. She conspires with the friar who married them to deceive her family so that she can steal away and be with Romeo. It's not until that plan ends tragically that the two families realize how foolish they have been.

Is It Any Good?

Not surprisingly, Romeo and Juliet has it all: clever dialogue, passionate romance, violent conflict, and plenty of poetry. Modern readers might have to suspend their disbelief to accept Romeo and Juliet's grand passion, but with a little patience, readers will be transported by the epic beauty of one of the world's best-loved plays.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the love between Romeo and Juliet -- two tenagers who have known each other for only about one day. Is this love at first sight? Is their love heightened by the obstacles they face?

The Capulets and Montagues hate each other, but we don't know why. Does it matter?

Do you think Shakespeare's play glamorizes suicide?

Why do you think this play is considered a classic and is often required reading in school?

Book Details

• Author : William Shakespeare
• Genre : Literary Fiction
• Topics : History
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Simon & Schuster
• Publication date : January 1, 2004
• Number of pages : 336
• Last updated : June 9, 2015

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Romeo and Juliet

Synopsis and plot overview of shakespeare's romeo and juliet.

• In this section

TL;DR (may contain spoilers): The classic story of boy meets girl; girl's family hates boy's family; boy's family hates girl's family; boy kills girl's cousin; boy and girl kill themselves.

Romeo and Juliet Summary

An age-old vendetta between two powerful families erupts into bloodshed. A group of masked Montagues risk further conflict by gatecrashing a Capulet party. A young lovesick Romeo Montague falls instantly in love with Juliet Capulet, who is due to marry her father’s choice, the County Paris. With the help of Juliet’s nurse, the women arrange for the couple to marry the next day, but Romeo’s attempt to halt a street fight leads to the death of Juliet’s own cousin, Tybalt, for which Romeo is banished. In a desperate attempt to be reunited with Romeo, Juliet follows the Friar’s plot and fakes her own death. The message fails to reach Romeo, and believing Juliet dead, he takes his life in her tomb. Juliet wakes to find Romeo’s corpse beside her and kills herself. The grieving family agree to end their feud.

• Read our  Romeo and Juliet Character Summaries . 

More detail: 2 minute read

Romeo and Juliet begins as the Chorus introduces two feuding families of Verona: the Capulets and the Montagues. On a hot summer's day, the young men of each faction fight until the Prince of Verona intercedes and threatens to banish them. Soon after, the head of the Capulet family plans a feast. His goal is to introduce his daughter Juliet to a Count named Paris who seeks to marry Juliet. 

Montague's son Romeo and his friends (Benvolio and Mercutio) hear of the party and resolve to go in disguise. Romeo hopes to see his beloved Rosaline at the party. Instead, while there, he meets Juliet and falls instantly in love with her. Juliet's cousin Tybalt recognises the Montague boys and forces them to leave just as Romeo and Juliet discover one another. 

Romeo lingers near the Capulet house to talk with Juliet when she appears in her window. The pair declare their love for one another and intend to marry the next day. With the help of Juliet's Nurse, the lovers arrange to marry when Juliet goes for confession at the cell of Friar Laurence. There, they are secretly married (talk about a short engagement). 

Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow — Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2

Following the secret marriage, Juliet's cousin Tybalt sends a challenge to Romeo. Romeo refuses to fight, which angers his friend Mercutio who then fights with Tybalt. Mercutio is accidentally killed as Romeo intervenes to stop the fight. In anger, Romeo pursues Tybalt, kills him, and is banished by the Prince. 

Juliet is anxious when Romeo is late to meet her and learns of the brawl, Tybalt's death, and Romeo's banishment. Friar Laurence arranges for Romeo to spend the night with Juliet before he leaves for Mantua. Meanwhile, the Capulet family grieves for Tybalt, so Lord Capulet moves Juliet's marriage to Paris to the next day. Juliet’s parents are angry when Juliet doesn't want to marry Paris, but they don't know about her secret marriage to Romeo.

A pair of star-crossed lovers — Romeo and Juliet, Prologue

Friar Laurence helps Juliet by providing a sleeping draught that will make her seem dead. When the wedding party arrives to greet Juliet the next day, they believe she is dead. The Friar sends a messenger to warn Romeo of Juliet's plan and bids him to come to the Capulet family monument to rescue his sleeping wife. 

Ready to test your knowledge? Have a go at our multiple choice Romeo and Juliet Quiz

The vital message to Romeo doesn't arrive in time because the plague is in town (so the messenger cannot leave Verona). Hearing from his servant that Juliet is dead, Romeo buys poison from an Apothecary in Mantua. He returns to Verona and goes to the tomb where he surprises and kills the mourning Paris. Romeo takes his poison and dies, while Juliet awakens from her drugged coma. She learns what has happened from Friar Laurence, but she refuses to leave the tomb and stabs herself. The Friar returns with the Prince, the Capulets, and Romeo's lately widowed father. The deaths of their children lead the families to make peace, and they promise to erect a monument in Romeo and Juliet's memory.

Romeo and Juliet Animated Summary - 3-Minute Shakespeare

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For additional reading, see our blogs on Romeo and Juliet

Discover more of Shakespeare's romantic lines:  Shakespeare Quotes on Love

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Romeo and Juliet

By william shakespeare.

'Romeo and Juliet' explores the fates of two young lovers whose death is predestined (I am not counting this as a spoiler as everybody knows and you find out in the first minute of the play!) the play centres around how fate intervenes to lead them on a path that results in their tragic end...

About the Book

Article written by Lee-James Bovey

P.G.C.E degree.

Romeo and Juliet explores the fates of two young lovers whose death is predestined (I am not counting this as a spoiler as everybody knows and you find out in the first minute of the play)! The play centers around how fate intervenes to lead them on a path that results in their tragic end but has wider implications for the imagined version of Verona and the fictional family feud.

Plot Overview, without Spoilers

The play opens with a monologue explaining what it is about. It then shows a scene with a fight between the two families demonstrating the feud that was referenced in the prologue. We are introduced to Romeo who is pining after Rosaline. Romeo’s best friend Mercutio convinces Romeo to attend a ball to help him get over his lovesickness.

At the ball, the character Romeo meets Juliet . The two have an instant connection but we discover that there is a strong reason why they should not be together and that Juliet is being lined up to be married to somebody else.

Romeo and Juliet meet in secret and get married this leads to an awkward confrontation with a member of Juliet’s family that results in Romeo being banished. To still be with one another Juliet launches a plot that goes tragically wrong.

Romeo and Juliet Summary

Warning: this will contain explicit spoilers)

The prologue begins by introducing the two warring families (the Capulets and Montagues and tells us of their long-standing grudge. It also introduces the idea that there will be two lovers in the play and that they will take their lives.

Act 1 Scene 1

The first scene helps to set the scene for the situation between the two families. We see two Capulet servants bragging about being stronger than Montague men and generally making smutty puns. They spot two Montague men and plot to try and start a fight with them within the confines of Verona law. They bite their thumbs at the Montagues which was considered an insult at the time a war of words ensues and this descends into a fight. Benvolio enters and tries to calm things down by drawing his sword.

Tybalt witnesses this and sees it as an act of aggression. Benvolio explains he was trying to keep the peace and Tyblat states that he hates peace almost as much as the Montagues. The brawl continues and Montague and Capulet themselves get involved before it is stopped by Prince Escalus who decrees that he is tired of the unrest and anybody who disturbs the peace again will face the death penalty.

Act 1 Scene 2

Paris and Capulet discuss the idea of Juliet marrying Paris. While Capulet is keen on this he thinks Juliet is too young. Meanwhile, Benvolio and Romeo are invited to the Capulet ball under the assumption they are not Montagues. Benvolio thinks Romeo should go to help him get over Rosaline. Romeo agrees but only because Rosaline’s name is on the guest list.

Act 1 Scene 3

This scene is set just before the feat that the Capulet’s have planned. It serves partially as comic relief thanks to the nurse’s bawdy stories. However, the scene ends with Juliet’s mum announcing that Paris wishes to marry Juliet. Juliet suggests she has not given much thought to marriage but will look out for Paris to see if he is someone that Juliet might like.

Act 1 Scene 4

Once again there is a lot of comedy in this scene thanks largely to the character of Mercutio. He, Romeo and Benvolio are dressed up and ready to attend the Capulet party but Romeo is still pining for Rosaline. Mercutio mocks all of Romeo’s pleas turning his words into innuendos. The conversation takes a darker turn as they talk about a strange dream Romeo has had. Romeo claims that he feels that going to the party will lead to his demise. This is foreshadowing. However, his fears are quelled by Mercutio and they proceed to the party.

Act 1 Scene 5

This is the scene where Romeo meets Juliet for the first time. Upon doing so he instantly forgets Rosaline declaring “Did my heart love till now” meaning that his previous feelings were probably shallow. Unbeknownst to Romeo, he has been spotted by Tybalt who wants to confront Romeo for daring to appear. Capulet stops him but Tybalt swears vengeance for the slight. Romeo and Juliet share a kiss but both are mortified when they later find out that they belong to rival households.

Act 2 Scene 1

Romeo attempts to find Juliet abandoning Benvolio and Mercutio. Mercutio assumes that Romeo has gone to track down Rosaline and playfully insults him. However, Romeo does not respond as he is preoccupied and has already ascended a wall to try and get to Juliet.

Act 2 Scene 2

This is a key scene in the play as Romeo listens in on Juliet as she declares her love for him but bemoans the fact that he is a Montague. She thinks out loud suggesting she would relinquish her very name if he loved her. Romeo announces his presence and declares his love. Juliet wants him to leave as she is worried if he is caught he will be killed. The scene has an interesting back and forth as Romeo comes on strong and despite her feelings, Juliet is hesitant as she is worried things are moving too fast. She arranges to send someone to him in the morning to test whether his love is as true as he is suggesting.

Act 2 Scene 3

The scene opens with Friar Lawrence talking about the properties of certain herbs and foreshadowing the mixture that will eventually lead to the lover’s demise. Romeo enters and the friar suspects he has slept with Rosaline. Romeo explains that he has fallen for Juliet and despite the friar’s skepticism he agrees to marry the pair as he can foresee it leading to peace between the two families.

Act 2 Scene 4

A lot happens in this scene which contains a lot of exposition dressed up in comedy. Firstly we learn through a discussion between Benvolio and Mercutio that Tybalt has issued a challenge to Romeo. Mercutio talks up Tybalt’s mastery of dueling but also makes it clear that he cannot stand the man. Romeo arrives and is mocked by Mercutio for abandoning his friends in search of love.

While this is said in gest there is a suggestion that Mercutio does actually mean what he says. They are joined by the nurse who is ridiculed by Mercutio who effectively accuses her of being a promiscuous lady. Romeo asks the nurse to request that Juliet finds an excuse to attend church so that the pair might marry. Romeo also convinces the nurse to make it possible that the pair can meet on their wedding night.

Act 2 Scene 5

The nurse returns to Juliet and teases Juliet who is impatient for information. Eventually, the nurse tells Juliet of Romeo’s plan.

Act 2 Scene 6

Romeo and Juliet meet and are married by Friar Lawrence.

Act 3 Scene 1

This is one of the most pivotal scenes in the play. Benvolio and Mercutio are approached by a group of Capulets led by Tybalt. Mercutio mocks Tybalt and things become heated. Romeo arrives and Tybalt turns his attention to Romeo. Having just married into the Capulet family Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt which enrages Mercutio who fights Tybalt instead. Mercutio is killed by Tybalt who runs off.

Mercutio dies dramatically still punning before finally passing away cursing both the Capulet and Montague names. Romeo laments the fact that he did not fight Tybalt, claiming that his love for Juliet has made him effeminate. Tybalt returns and Romeo exacts his revenge killing Tybalt. Benvolio convinces Romeo to run away. Prince Escalus arrives and Benvolio explains how Romeo tried to keep the peace. Escalus declares Romeo banished and states if he is ever seen within Verona he will be killed.

Act 3 Scene 2

News of Tybalt’s death is relayed to Julia via the nurse who at first makes it sound like both Tybalt and Romeo are dead which prompts Juliet to consider taking her own life foreshadowing what will eventually happen. The nurse clears up the confusion but this does not help Juliet who is distraught that she won’t get to see her husband on her wedding night. The nurse vows to seek out Romeo and takes a ring as a sign of Juliet’s affection.

Act 3 Scene 3

Romeo is in a state of despair following the loss of his friend and the news he will be banished. He claims that he might as well be dead because it is crueler to be alive and not with Juliet. The nurse arrives and Romeo is once again distraught at the idea that Juliet might think him a murderer. The friar reassures Romeo and hatches a plan for Romeo to visit Juliet that night and then go into exile and allow the news of their marriage to spread and hopefully with time Prince Escalus might change his mind. The ring that Juliet sent helps renew Romeo’s hopes and he sets off to see his wife.

Act 3 Scene 4

The Capulets discuss Juliet potentially marrying Pairs. Lord Capulet promises Paris Juliet’s hand in marriage.

Act 3 Scene 5

Romeo and Juliet awake having consummated their marriage. Juliet doesn’t want Romeo to leave and overcome with love he agrees to do this regardless of the consequences. Realising how dire the consequences will be Juliet convinces him to leave. When he does leave Juliet’s mother enters and tells Juliet she will marry Paris. Juliet refuses. This angers Lady Capulet. Lord Capulet gets involved and is enraged by Juliet’s refusal to obey him. Juliet talks to the nurse who tries to convince Juliet that Romeo is as good as dead and that Paris would be a good match. Juliet pretends to agree and arranges to meet the friar to “confess”.

Act 4 scene 1

Paris talks to the friar about his upcoming wedding. Meanwhile, Juliet arrives and claims she must confess to getting Paris to leave. When he does Juliet threatens to kill herself rather than marry Paris. She and the friar make a plan to use medicine to fake Juliet’s death so she can avoid marrying Paris and be reunited with Romeo.

Act 4 Scene 2

Paris surprises her parents by cheerfully agreeing to marry Paris. Lord Capulet heads off to tell Paris the good news.

Act 4 Scene 3

Juliet asks to be alone at night and prepares to take the potion. She frets over this decision and has visions of Tybalt’s ghost.

Act 4 Scene 4

The next morning Juliet is discovered and presumed dead. Lord and Lady Capulet are joined by Paris in despairing at her presumed demise.

Act 4 Scene 5

This is a largely comic scene where a group of musicians refuses to play cheerful music. It is often cut during productions as it seems far too comic given the somber tone of what has just happened.

Act 5 Scene 1

Romeo is met by Balthazar and seems in good spirits he asks for news of Juliet but is distraught when he learns that she has died. He vows to join her in Verona. On the way to be with Juliet, he buys a vial of poison as he intends to end his own life.

Act 5 Scene 2

Friar Lawrence talks to a fellow friar who has asked to deliver a letter to Romeo informing him of Juliet’s plan. Unfortunately, he could not deliver the note. The friar worries about rescuing Juliet’s body but does not know that Romeo thinks that Juliet is dead.

Act 5 Scene 3

Romeo attempts to break into the tomb but is stopped by Paris who believes Romeo to be there to deface the tomb in some way. Romeo pleads with Paris but a fight is unavoidable. Romeo kills Paris. Romeo reaches Juliet’s body. He positions himself beside her and takes the poison. Juliet awakes and is told by Friar Lawrence that both Romeo and Paris are dead. Juliet tries to kill herself by taking the poison from Romeo’s lips but when this doesn’t work she uses Romeo’s dagger to take her own life. Lord Escalus blames the tragedy on the feuds both the lords agree to end the feud.

About Lee-James Bovey

Lee-James, a.k.a. LJ, has been a Book Analysis team member since it was first created. During the day, he's an English Teacher. During the night, he provides in-depth analysis and summary of books.

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Romeo and Juliet - Entire Play

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Last updated: Fri, Jul 31, 2015

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The prologue of Romeo and Juliet calls the title characters “star-crossed lovers”—and the stars do seem to conspire against these young lovers.

Romeo is a Montague, and Juliet a Capulet. Their families are enmeshed in a feud, but the moment they meet—when Romeo and his friends attend a party at Juliet’s house in disguise—the two fall in love and quickly decide that they want to be married.

A friar secretly marries them, hoping to end the feud. Romeo and his companions almost immediately encounter Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, who challenges Romeo. When Romeo refuses to fight, Romeo’s friend Mercutio accepts the challenge and is killed. Romeo then kills Tybalt and is banished. He spends that night with Juliet and then leaves for Mantua.

Juliet’s father forces her into a marriage with Count Paris. To avoid this marriage, Juliet takes a potion, given her by the friar, that makes her appear dead. The friar will send Romeo word to be at her family tomb when she awakes. The plan goes awry, and Romeo learns instead that she is dead. In the tomb, Romeo kills himself. Juliet wakes, sees his body, and commits suicide. Their deaths appear finally to end the feud.

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The latest book reviews and book news, romeo and juliet: book review.

Romeo and Juliet book review

Today we will be reviewing the class book/play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It is a comedy/ tragedy that is taught in classes all over the world. Keep reading for a short summary of the book and how the play came to be!

Romeo and Juliet Summary

Set in Verona Italy, the play starts off with a brawl in the streets between the Montague and the Capulet servants. The two families hate each other and that hate also has passed down to the servants. Prince Escalus of Verona breaks up the brawl and declares that the next one to start the fight will be punishable by death.

Count Paris discusses marrying Juliet with her father but he pushes the date back. Instead, he asks him to attend a ball that the Capulet’s are planning to hold. Benvolio, who is the cousin of Romeo, a Montague, tries to get Romeo out of his depression. He convinces Romeo with the help of Mercutio to attend the Capulet ball to meet Rosaline.

During the ball, Romeo ends up falling in love with Juliet. Juliet’s cousin Tybalt is angry when he discovers that Romeo has snuck into the ball. He wants to kill Romeo but is stopped by Juliet’s father who doesn’t want to ruin the ball.

After the ball, Romeo sneaks to meet Juliet and they admit their love for each other. Tybalt is still furious at Romeo and challenges him to a duel. The death of a close friend of Romeo ignites the flames to an all-out war between the two families.

Will Romeo and Juliet be able to be together? Will their families stop the feud or will it destroy both of the families?

The History of Romeo and Juliet

The story of Romeo and Juliet is very old but there are many that haven’t read the book or didn’t pay attention in class. It is one of Shakespeare most popular plays and is performed the most alongside Hamlet. While Shakespeare expanded on the Romeo and Juliet story, he was not the one who created the original story.

The plot of Romeo and Juliet is based on an Italian tale that was translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet  by Arthur Brooke in 1562. It was later retold in prose by William Painter in 1567. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both sources and expanded on the plot as well as adding role characters and made it into the story we know today.

This story was written early in Shakespeare’s career between the years 1591-1596 and made its debut in 1596. It perfectly alternated between comedy and tragedy which is a style Shakespeare is known for. The play is over 400 years old and it is still one of the most popular plays in the world.

When we take about a love story or a tragic love story , the first story that is mentioned is Romeo and Juliet. When a story is as good as this, it transcends time. Not everyone is a fan of Shakespeare but even they have to admit his plays are incredible. Happy reading untik next time!

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Are you much into the “Who was Shakespeare” debate? I’m tangentially aware of it and tend to come down on the “Shakespeare was Shakespeare” side of things myself.

I’ve come across it and it is an interesting debate. I think it may have been a collective effort from various people.

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BOOK REVIEW : Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespeare

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Book Reviews on...

Romeo and juliet, by william shakespeare.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet  is one of his most popular plays, a tragic love story set in the Italian city of Verona. “ Romeo and Juliet gives a wonderful exploration of young love, of first love, of romantic attitudes to love.” Stanley Wells , Shakespearean scholar

Recommendations from our site

“Shakespeare’s most popular play, it’s more popular than Hamlet, more popular than any of the other tragedies or plays.” Read more...

René Weis on The Best Plays of Shakespeare

René Weis , Biographer

Other books by William Shakespeare

Titus andronicus (arden shakespeare) by jonathan bate & william shakespeare, all the sonnets of shakespeare by paul edmonson, stanley wells & william shakespeare, the art of shakespeare's sonnets by helen vendler & william shakespeare, shakespeare's sonnets by katherine duncan-jones & william shakespeare, illustrated stories from shakespeare by anna claybourne, rosie dickins & william shakespeare, hamlet by william shakespeare, our most recommended books, on liberty by john stuart mill, war and peace by leo tolstoy, middlemarch by george eliot, nineteen eighty-four by george orwell, the confessions by augustine (translated by maria boulding), republic by plato.

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Review: In London, a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ That Feels Startlingly New

Toheeb Jimoh, Emmy-nominated for “Ted Lasso,” takes on Romeo in a riveting production from the British director Rebecca Frecknall.

By Matt Wolf

Reporting from London

“Is love a tender thing?” Romeo asks early in the Shakespeare tragedy to which he and Juliet give their names. Not so much, according to the raw and riveting new production of “Romeo and Juliet” that opened Wednesday at the Almeida Theater here.

It’s no surprise that the courtship between the noble Romeo — here played by the sweet-faced Toheeb Jimoh , from TV’s “ Ted Lasso ” — and the teenage Juliet (Isis Hainsworth) will end in calamity. But this production from Rebecca Frecknall — the buzzy British director whose shows tend to scoop up Olivier awards — treats the often overly familiar play as if it were entirely fresh, and the result is astonishing.

Filleting the text by nearly an hour so that it actually does equate to the Chorus’s promised “two hours’ traffic of our stage,” Frecknall brings to her first professional foray into Shakespeare the same pared-back, scalpel-sharp precision she has previously applied to Tennessee Williams and her still-running West End revival of “ Cabaret ,” which is rumored to be heading to New York next spring.

Her “Romeo and Juliet,” performed without an intermission, begins with the cast clawing feverishly at a stage wall, onto which are projected crucial lines from the prologue. But as if in haste to get straight to the meat of the play, the wall soon collapses to reveal the citizenry of Verona mid-combat. Danger, you feel from the start, is the default mode of a contemporary-seeming milieu amid which Juliet is described by her father as “a stranger in the world.” That is perhaps because she hasn’t yet experienced life’s abrasions; such an awareness will come — and how — with time.

“These violent delights have violent ends,” notes Friar Lawrence (the excellent Paul Higgins), in arguably the most prescient remark in the play. Barely have Romeo and Juliet been introduced before their existence seems threatened at every turn. At one point the Nurse (a booted Jo McInnes, herself a fine director) sits with her face in her hands, fearing the worst.

Elsewhere, Juliet’s father remarks to his daughter’s intended, Paris, that “we were born to die”— a comment that in this context has the force of prophecy. Jamie Ballard brings to Lord Capulet a roiling fury that seems to catch even his own wife off guard. What sort of father would deride his only child as “one too much?”

Amid such a toxic family, you can well imagine Juliet wanting the quickest way out, and Frecknall makes us aware of how the play is alive to the passage of time. “Wednesday’s tomorrow,” the Friar says in passing, noting a remorseless speed that seems to take everyone by surprise. The Friar is equally alert to the danger inherent in such impetuosity: “They stumble that run fast,” he cautions as the lovers hurtle toward the abyss.

Frecknall has a background in movement, and her “Romeo and Juliet” often feels halfway toward dance-theater, including generous borrowings from Prokofiev’s celebrated ballet score for this very play.

A male ensemble, including key characters like Benvolio (Miles Barrow) and Jyuddah Jaymes’s feral Tybalt, moves in undulating rhythms, dropping to the floor of Chloe Lamford’s set and back up again. Jonathan Holby’s fight direction introduces a gun into the arsenal of knives that does away with Jack Riddiford’s charismatic Mercutio, here an insolent provocateur who has barely spoken the Queen Mab speech before he disappears. The rules governing this fearsome group of men render no one safe amid the comparably merciless glare of Lee Curran’s shifting bank of lights toward the rear of the stage.

The fast-rising Jimoh, a 2022 Emmy nominee, brings to the stage the same ready likability familiar from his turn as Sam Obisanya in “Ted Lasso.” What astonishes here is the ease with which he emotionally opens himself up to Juliet, only to realize too late that the options available to this couple are running out. It’s fascinating, too, to see the balcony scene reconfigured so that Romeo is perched atop a ladder addressing Juliet center-stage, flipping the play’s iconic imagery.

Referencing “this world-wearied flesh,” Jimoh’s Romeo sounds like an embryonic Hamlet. Hainsworth, for her part, played Hermia, a young lover with a similarly unforgiving father in the Bridge Theater’s “ A Midsummer Night’s Dream ” several years ago. Juliet is a far larger role, and the actress sometimes disappears so far inside her character’s grief that the language itself gets muddied, or lost. (Hainsworth will reunite with Frecknall in an adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s “The House of Bernarda Alba” for the National Theater in November.)

But I’ve rarely heard an audience as attentive as the Almeida’s was when Hainsworth’s guttural sorrow gave way to a startlingly vivid suicide, from which several playgoers around me visibly recoiled.

You may not be surprised to learn that Frecknall closes the play with Juliet’s despairing deed. Once you’ve restored death’s sting, all that’s left is silence.

Romeo and Juliet

Through July 29 at the Almeida Theater in London; https://almeida.co.uk/

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When activists urged Tate Britain in London to take an offensive artwork off its walls, the institution commissioned Keith Piper  to create a response instead. The result recently went on display.

The new National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam has been in the works for almost 20 years. It is the first institution to tell the full story  of the persecution of Dutch Jews during World War II.

At a retrospective of John Singer Sargent’s portraits in London, where the American expatriate fled after creating a scandal in Paris, clothes offer both armor and self-expression .

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Matthew Bourne’s Romeo + Juliet review – more compelling than ever

Sadler’s Wells, London Set in an asylum, the choreographer’s bleak yet passionate adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragic romance triumphs in a newly honed revival

T he choreographer Matthew Bourne tends to be seen as a family favourite – someone who makes works that everyone can enjoy. That’s true, but what gets missed in that judgment is just how good he is at putting passion – suppressed and expressed – on stage.

His Romeo + Juliet , returning four years after its premiere, is a case in point. Set in the Verona Institute, some kind of asylum-cum-borstal designed to incarcerate problem youths, it’s designed by Lez Brotherston as a white world of smooth surfaces, barred doors and staircases that lead nowhere. Yet within this setting, the white-clad characters strive all the time to break from the uniformity imposed on them, introducing a jerk of the head, a twitch of the arms, into their mechanical marches, stretching their limbs into embraces that are forbidden, snatching a kiss under the fierce eye of the guards.

When Romeo meets Juliet at a ball organised by ineffectual do-gooder Rev Bernadette Laurence, they circle each other, entranced, under a glitter ball. But around them, their fellows bend deep into the ground, their bodies catching the weight and beat of Prokofiev’s score as they meld together in forbidden passion.

By the balcony scene, brilliantly conceived to make use of the ladders and the upper walkway of the set, with the lovers dodging the warders’ searchlights, Romeo and Juliet have found a way to express their feelings that is at once ecstatic and chaste. It begins as Romeo nuzzles his head into Juliet’s neck, moulding his body to her shape, fluidly following her round and round the stage. They are equals in love, lifting one another, tumbling with incredible lightness over each other’s backs, and finally locking lips in a kiss that doesn’t break even though they roll across the floor and climb the stairs.

The message of this radical take on Shakespeare’s tale is quite clear: love and sex are powerful – threatening to a society that wants people to conform. The brutal Tybalt (danced with tormented nuance by Richard Winsor) precipitates the tragedy not just because he is obsessed with Juliet but because he is full of homophobic hatred for Ben Brown’s swaggering, brave Mercutio.

Since the piece first appeared in 2019, Bourne has worked – as he always does – on refining and adding clarity. The ending is still shocking, but now more directly seems to spring from Juliet’s trauma. Returning to the role she created, Cordelia Braithwaite finds new strains of suffering; her Juliet is tragic precisely because her strength and courage have been distorted by the life imposed upon her. Paris Fitzpatrick’s goofy, charming Romeo is the perfect foil.

But the entire cast shines. There’s a delicate solo of traumatised mourning for Jackson Fisch’s Balthasar set to the section of music that often announces the arrival of Juliet’s bridesmaids, and fluent, clever dances for the other characters that capture both their initial capacity for joy and resistance and the drugged, shell-shocked state to which they are finally reduced.

Fabulously responsive to the melancholy that underpins Prokofiev’s score, which is brilliantly adapted by Terry Davies and played live under the conductor Daniel Parkinson by the New Adventures orchestra, this is a bleak adaptation of a dark play. Absolutely compelling.

At Sadler’s Wells, London , until 2 September; touring until 4 November

• Matthew Bourne
• The Observer

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Romeo vs. Juliet: A Kill Shakespeare Adventure Reinvents a Timeless Love Story

They didn't teach this story in high school..

Today happens to be National Shakespeare Day, which is the perfect time to reveal that the acclaimed comic book series Kill Shakespeare is making a comeback. Pulitzer Prize-winning creator Anthony Del Col is continuing this saga with a new original graphic novel titled Romeo vs. Juliet: A Kill Shakespeare Adventure.

IGN can exclusively debut the cover art for this new graphic novel and its Free Comic Book Day 2024 preview issue. Check them out, along with interior art from the upcoming Kill Shakespeare 1st Folio compendium, in the slideshow gallery below:

Romeo vs. Juliet: A Kill Shakespeare Adventure is written by Del Col, with art by Stefan Tosheff, letters by Becca Carey and cover art by Richard Isanove. This new graphic novel is the debut release from Gemstone, the company best known for publishing The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.

For those not familiar with Kill Shakespeare, the franchise explores a world where all of Shakespeare's stories and characters exist in one shared universe. While Romeo vs. Juliet is designed as an accessible entry point into KIll Shakespeare, for those who want to catch up on this unique universe, Gemstone will be publishing two Folio collections that reprint the earlier IDW Publishing graphic novels.

“Hamlet. Juliet. Othello. Lady Macbeth. These are some of the greatest characters ever created,” said Del Col in a statement. “I'm so excited to be back in the world of Kill Shakespeare where they—and many others—all co-exist (and sometimes battle, naturally) and to be working with Gemstone on this. Our new story Romeo Vs. Juliet is a great entry point for everyone—a Shakespearean western in which Juliet Capulet has survived her ordeal with Romeo and has reinvented herself as an independent warrior-for-hire. In order to help protect a small nunnery and border town from her ex-lover, Juliet must reunite with old allies, including Hamlet, Othello, and Puck. And did I mention Juliet’s pregnant? And the father could be either Hamlet… or Romeo? What could be more Shakespearean than that?”

Look for the Romeo vs. Juliet saga to begin with the release of the FCBD 2024 special on May 4, followed by the full graphic novel on November 19. Kill Shakespeare 1st Folio will be release on September 24, and 2nd Folio will follow in Spring 2025.

In other comic book news, the Avengers are about to cross over with the Aliens universe , and we've got an exclusive preview of IDW's Batman: Year One Artist's Edition hardcover .

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter .

Kill Shakespeare

Romeo vs. Juliet: A Kill Shakespeare Adventure Preview Gallery