Friday, March 19, 2010
Juliet and Her Romeo: Star-crossed senior citizens
The Guardian: "At 76, Siân Phillips has reached the age when male actors of her generation and stature are squaring up to such titans in the Shakespeare canon as Lear and Prospero. She, meanwhile, must be content with somewhat lesser parts: the Nurse from Romeo and Juliet, say, or Mistress Quickly, the pub landlady in Henry IV. 'They're very nice roles,' she says, in the tone of someone accepting a ham sandwich in lieu of steak au poivre."
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When I first started reading this article, I was skeptical. I'm all for adaptations and new incarnations of Shakespeare, but change the teenage lovers Romeo and Juliet into grandparents? However the additional changes that have been made to the backstory have created an extremely interesting version of the overdone story. I was mostly upset by the idea that by changing their ages, that it would change the message of the story, but instead that very problem has been embraced by the company. They have turned the fault of warring families, into a commentary of care for the elderly. I think this is especially becoming relevant because people are being to live longer and longer. The question arises, what to do with them? Also when is it time to put them away? These decisions usually lie with the children, and as this show poses, so can the fault.
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