Hey all!
So as some of you may have read, Krachi has just joined the writing team for LTAS (after bugging/begging Geoff relentlessly) and the three of us are very excited. We will hopefully be doing an introductory post soon, but for now this is just the ‘chi’ part (Michi) coming to you this morning.
Now – I’ve noticed a Shakespeare trend recently here, which really is fine with me since my semester has been surrounded by the Bard, and I love him. SO I thought I’d continue the trend, with the newest happenings of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
What they have started is a little strange to say the least. They are producing a “production” (I use the term loosely – though they do not) of Romeo and Juliet. The catch? It’s all being done by 6 characters (interesting) on TWITTER (say WHAT?!) Before you imagine Shakespeare rolling around in his grave – hear it out.
And as skeptical as I was at first, I have kind of become very emotionally involved in this. Maybe because I’m crazy. However, they also modernized the show and didn’t give the ‘actors’ (again – using the term loosely) a script, merely a sort of story block that they must function within. This began on Sunday and they will be doing the show in real time for 5 weeks. So what’s the story so far? Basically, 10 years ago yesterday Montague was driving Lady Capulet in a car while he was stoned; they got in a car crash and she was killed while he escaped with only minor injuries. Thus began the feud. Now jumping to present day – the Nurse is actually Juliet’s older sister who was forced to take care of her sister after her mother’s death, though this isn’t something she’s bitter about. Nurse was a nickname they gave her as a child. Tybalt is actually their brother – a drug dealing bad student who just got kicked out of his most recent school for dealing. Mercutio is an alcoholic party boy who drags Romeo out to bars every night, and constantly hits on the ladies. Friar Laurence owns an internet cafe where he attempts to reach out to the public. He also has a past of dealing and doing drugs(which he gave up 10 years ago – I’m assuming because he had some part in the drugs Montague was on) and he has just joined twitter to reach out more people. Juliet is a 15 year old (almost 16) who is OBSESSED with Robert Pattinson and Twilight. Which, really, makes sense. Because that’s what most 15 year olds in our culture do.
So there’s the story as it stands now. Romeo doesn’t have an account – I don’t know if he’ll get one or what. Initially I thought this was absolutely crazy (and I still kind of do). Mostly because I wasn’t sure of their goal. Now I can see a desire to reach out to a wider audience, but really the only people that will become involved with this is theatre and english kids like me who know the story, love Shakespeare, and are intrigued by a new imagining of it. With all the liberties they’ve taken I’m not even sure it could be considered Shakespeare anymore.
Anyway – If you want to check it out, and don’t have a twitter, or would rather just follow it in one timeline, they have a website – www.SuchTweetSorrow.com (punny)
And if you think this is the silliest thing ever, well, sorry bout it.
