‘Romeo + Juliet’ comes to Dubai
A Dubai-based rendition of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet will take place on his 400th death anniversary
We all think we know Romeo and Juliet — two foolish kids from rival families who excel at being star-crossed lovers and then, like, totally die for each other. Exit stage right.
But this weekend, their story is going to get a lot more familiar. Familiar enough to happen in our backyards. Dubai’s Montagues and Capulets will war with one another in a modernised rendition of the classic Shakespearean story at Ductac Theatre. Romeo + Juliet will run from today to Saturday, marking the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death.
While Shakespeare’s language has been preserved, the context, setting and dress have all been updated to 2016.
“We made the choice to make the Capulets a white, Western family from Jumeirah, and the Montagues an Indian family from Karama,” said director Liz Hadaway.
As a promenade, or site-specific, play, the audience won’t have a chance to get comfortable. They’ll be ushered from location to location between every scene.
“It opens with a street brawl. Two of the members of each household who are involved in the first scene — for the Capulets, Samson and Gregory, and for the Montagues, Balthazar and Abraham — will then be the guides for their respective families, in character, throughout [the play],” said Hadaway.
Upon arrival, much like a wedding, audience members will be split into friends of the bride or groom — 75 on team Montague and 75 on team Capulet. One half will follow Romeo’s perspective, and the other Juliet’s, but both crowds will merge for their combined scenes.
The production — named Romeo + Juliet not as an ode to the 1996 Leonardo Dicaprio film, but as a reference to UAE’s Short + Sweet theatrical festival, of which Hadaway is also the director — is part of the British Council’s global initiative, Shakespeare Lives, which will celebrate Shakespeare’s body of work on Saturady, four centuries since his death.
“When most people go and see a ‘classic’ play like this, you expect to snore through the second half it. It’s slow and boring,” said Sally Greenland, who plays Juliet.
Greenland, 31, is an Australian actress based in New York City. She’s been Lady Macbeth a few times, but this will be her