Rómeo and Juliet - Production diary

Day 12

So as already mentioned...

I have a confrontational east European Juliet and a Jewish Romeo for my production.

Some might of course say that this is in some way interesting, offers a new approach to the play and opens up possible interpretations.

But as an answer to that I simply state that this is only Romeo and Juliet that we are talking about, it is not really like I have a literary masterpiece on my hands.

Don't get me wrong, Shakespeare is great and all, but love stories just were no his thing. I mean nobody is perfect.

I this were a Ibsen... The doll house, for instance, would have plenty of space for these kind of nationalities. Nora, a east european immigrant, lives with her Jewish husband which does not understand a word she says. So he just ignores her. But she starts handeling the money of the family, which of course sets unforseen things into motion.

Or if we want to be anal and stay with Shakespeare how about a Jewish Othello and a east european Destimona. Othello escaped Nazi Germany and hid away in a Ungarn village where he was taken in by a welthy family.

He takes up duties for the family to repay the trust that he was given and to earn the daughter of the house. But the nazis are after him and have infiltrated the family in order to search for the jew and their spy follows him to where he has been posted. And there a epic history of revenge, greed and the follies of love take place.

(These ideas are copyrighted to Mr. Arnarsson enterprieses)

But I am stuck with plain old boring Romeo and Juliet.