Act 2, scene 3 Determined to marry Juliet, Romeo hurries to Friar Lawrence. The Friar agrees to marry them, expressing the hope that the marriage may end the feud between their families. Shakespeare's first romantic tragedy, probably written about 1595 and first printed in a ‘bad’ quarto in 1597; a good quarto (1599) reappeared in the First Folio of 1623. The play is based on Arthur Brooke's poem The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562), a translation from the French of Bandello's Novelle. Act 1, scene 1 A street fight breaks out between the Montagues and the Capulets, which is broken up by the ruler of Verona, Prince Escalus. He threatens the Montagues and Capulets with death if they fight again. A melancholy Romeo enters and is questioned by his cousin Benvolio, who learns that the cause of Romeo’s sadness is unrequited love. Edited by Hannah August, Senior Lecturer, Massey University, Francis X. Conor, Associate Professor of English, Wichita State University, and Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies, University of Oxford This sumptuous, elegant and dynamic production will include song and dance and always remain faithful to the beautiful language and tragic story of love, separation and divided loyalties.

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. The New Oxford Shakespeare edition of Romeo and Juliet provides a fresh and authoritative introduction to one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies.Alex Nicholls, the director, said: “It’s been a thrill to work with our highly talented and diverse cast who have completely embraced Shakespeare’s great love story, beautiful language and really breathe new life into this beloved tale. Come and see them in action!” Act 3, scene 5 Romeo and Juliet separate at the first light of day. Almost immediately her mother comes to announce that Juliet must marry Paris. When Juliet refuses, her father becomes enraged and vows to put her out on the streets. The Nurse recommends that Juliet forget the banished Romeo and regard Paris as a more desirable husband. Juliet is secretly outraged at the Nurse’s advice and decides to seek Friar Lawrence’s help. Every one of us in the audience knew how it ended, of course. Apart from anything else Shakespeare told us in the Prologue. But when the Queen (Prince Escalus in the original) ended the performance with,

The play begins with a brawl before introducing us to Romeo and his best mates, Mercutio and Benvolio. Cyd Cowley’s performance as Romeo starts with him as a doe-eyed, slightly melodramatic romantic. Both the character and Cowley’s performance grew in strength and depth over the course of the night as Romeo grappled with heavier and heavier emotions. The introduction examines in particular the play's performance history and presents a new interpretation that veers away from its perception as a core text of heterosexual love I would guess that most of the young audience were there because they’ve been studying the play and the 25 or so 11-year-olds on a primary school trip were clearly loving watching familiar scenes unfold in front of them. The actors were mostly loving bringing it to life for them too, especially Mercutio (Billy Morton) whose laddish innuendo was pitched just right to set them giggling.Act 1, scene 5 Capulet welcomes the disguised Romeo and his friends. Romeo, watching the dance, is caught by the beauty of Juliet. Overhearing Romeo ask about her, Tybalt recognizes his voice and is enraged at the intrusion.Romeo then meets Juliet, and they fall in love. Not until they are separated do they discover that they belong to enemy houses. Act 4, scene 1 Paris is talking with Friar Lawrence about the coming wedding when Juliet arrives. After Paris leaves, she threatens suicide if Friar Lawrence cannot save her from marrying Paris. Friar Lawrence gives her a potion that will make her appear as if dead the morning of the wedding. He assures her that when she awakes in the vault, Romeo will be there to take her away. Outlines common themes explored when studying Romeo and Juliet's characters, including Romeo and Juliet's unrequited love, Romeo and Juliet as youthful protagonists, Romeo and Juliet's divided loyalties and the powerful force of fate and fortune

Act 2, scene 4 Mercutio and Benvolio meet the newly enthusiastic Romeo in the street. Romeo defeats Mercutio in a battle of wits. The Nurse finds Romeo, and he gives her a message for Juliet: meet me at Friar Lawrence’s cell this afternoon, and we will there be married.The intensity of the love between Romeo and Juliet is pitched against the hate-ridden society in which they live. In the balcony scene, Juliet tells Romeo that if her kinsmen find him in the orchard they will murder him. It is that hatred that is going to destroy them. Not only them but Mercutio, Tybalt and Paris as well. The hatred generated by the ancient feud is just as intense, as we see from the emotional behaviour of Tybalt, as the intensity of the love between Romeo and Juliet. Death and Hate From the star-crossed lovers and their passionate romance to the bittersweet tragedy that unfolds, the play’s emotional depth and timeless appeal ensure its enduring popularity.” Act 2, scene 5 Juliet waits impatiently for the Nurse to return. Her impatience grows when the Nurse, having returned, is slow to deliver Romeo’s message. Finally Juliet learns that if she wants to marry Romeo, she need only go to Friar Lawrence’s cell that afternoon. But the technical challenges to actors of voice production became very clear when heavy rain after the interval interrupted the performance half way through Act 3 and we all decamped to the Baptist Church. It must be hard to switch mid-performance from trying to project a voice that was disappearing into the open air to needing to slow down because sounds are bouncing off the church walls. All credit to the actors for managing that transition as well as they did, and for replaying the end of scene 4 to remind us where we were. Act 4, scene 5 The Nurse finds Juliet in the deathlike trance caused by the Friar’s potion and announces Juliet’s death. Juliet’s parents and Paris join the Nurse in lamentation. Friar Lawrence interrupts them and begins to arrange Juliet’s funeral. The scene closes with an exchange of wordplay between Capulet’s servant Peter and Paris’s musicians.