Romeo and Juliet

Stand well clear, Jo!

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In an alternative version of Act V Scene III, the Doctor, Amy and Rory rush to prevent Romeo from poisoning himself over Juliet's lifeless body. (PROSE: The True and Most Excellent Comedie of Romeo and Juliet)

Romeo and Juliet was a play written by William Shakespeare. It was also the name of its two main characters, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet.

History

Inspirations

According to a publication which published much of the Shakespeare Notebooks, it was "generally agreed" that Shakespeare took the poem The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brook as its main inspiration. The play as it was reproduced in Quarto and Folio closely followed the narrative of the poem, using the same character names and the same ending, with the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet. (PROSE: The True and Most Excellent Comedie of Romeo and Juliet)

Drafts

The Shakespeare Notebooks contained as one of its longest pieces an earlier and somewhat lighter draft of Romeo and Juliet. The non-fiction book which reprinted it stated it "appear[ed]" that under pressure from James Burbage to "make dark tragedie light", Shakespeare prepared a second version of the play with a happy ending, which he dubbed "the story as it did truly unfold, by misfortune unmarred". This turned the play, which was already highly comic for its first three acts, into an out-and-out comedy. This alternative version added a trio comprising of the Doctor, Amy, and Rory, who could travel great distances in seconds thanks to a blue box called the TARDIS. These new characters were clearly based upon the Eleventh Doctor and his companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams.

In Act IV Scene III of this draft, the Doctor and his friends arrived in Juliet's bedroom and attempted to stop her from drinking a sleeping draught which made her appear lifeless. They entered just too late, with the Doctor calling out to her as she fell upon her bed. With nothing more to do and fearing the consequences should they be found with Juliet's body, they swiftly left.

In Act V Scene I, an apothecary in Mantua sold Romeo a vial of poison which he intended to use to commit suicide, having heard of Juliet's "death". The Doctor, Amy, and Rory, arrived moments too late once again and were unable to prevent him from buying the vial. Instead, they spoke to the apothecary, who was initially unwilling to answer questions regarding Romeo's whereabouts. However, the Doctor gave him some gold, persuading him to tell them that Romeo was headed directly to the Capulet tomb to lie with his love. The trio immediately set off again, bound for the tomb in Verona. (PROSE: The True and Most Excellent Comedie of Romeo and Juliet)

In August 1937, Lucas Seyton stole an original draft of Romeo and Juliet from the Palace Theatrical Museum in London. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang)

Performances and adaptations

In 1866, Henry Gordon Jago auditioned for the role of Romeo at the Alhambra Theatre. (AUDIO: The Year of the Bat)

In 1953, Adrian Cooper played Romeo in David Owen's film adaptation of the play. Cooper, who was famous for his ego, demanded that the script be rewritten so that Romeo survived and got the girl. (PROSE: Swamp of Horrors (1957) - Viewing Notes)

The play's sixth act included a wedding scene between the title characters, which was heavily requested from BardCorp in the early years of the City of the Saved. Francis Bacon claimed to have written Mercutio's bawdy best man's speech. (PROSE: The Smallest Spark)

References

While a captive of Saladin in 1190, Barbara Wright was going to tell him the stories of Romeo and Juliet, Gulliver's Travels and Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales. (TV: The Crusade)

Lucie Miller compared Kalkin and Sararti to Romeo and Juliet. When Tayden asked if that was good, Lucie replied "Er - actually, no, come to think of it". (AUDIO: Immortal Beloved)

While on Zeta Minor, the Fourth Doctor quoted a line from Romeo and Juliet. (TV: Planet of Evil)

Behind the scenes

• Many of the period costumes seen in The Masque of Mandragora were first used in Renato Castellani's 1954 feature film production of Romeo and Juliet.
• According to The Brilliant Book 2012, a book that contains non-narrative based information, Amy Pond and Rory Williams saw Romeo and Juliet at the Theatre in 1605 before they were arrested by King James I.
• The title of the audio story He Jests at Scars... is a reference to the line "He jests at scars that never felt a wound" from Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 2.
• Clive Swift, Keith Skinner, Patrick Ryecart, Esmond Knight, David Sibley, Jacqueline Hill, Vernon Dobtcheff, John Savident, Bunny Reed and Jeremy Young have all worked on film productions of "Romeo and Juliet".