Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. An eternal favourite, this play has been performed in various guises in South Africa. First performed here in 18** by **. Other major productions were by *, the Johannesburg REPS (1949. Directed by André van Gyseghem, starring Eugenie Heyns, Leon Gluckman, Muriel Alexander, and Herbert Kretzmer, with sets by Len Grosset and costumes by Louis Jacobson. Put on in the Pretoria Opera House and the Wits University Great Hall), * Maynardville (dir *, 19*), **, Maynardville (dir Clare Stopford, 200*). Translated into a number of South African languages, including Afrikaans as Romeo en Juliet (by ** . Performed by * in 19*, published by * in 19*), into Southern Sotho as Romeo le Juliet (by I. Mahloane. Published by Mazenod in 1964), . Reworked in numerous ways, many of which have been done in South Africa. Similarly, many local variations and adaptations have been done. Examples are ** In a theatre-in-education programme on Romeo and Juliet (done by PACT Playwork in 197* and directed by Peter Terry), the text was used as a springboard to explore the notion of prejudice in South Africa and Northern Ireland, for debate by the audience. (See for example also Jean Anouilh's Roméo et Jeanette, Peter Verhulst's Romeo en Julia, Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, *)

Shakespeare's R&J

An adaptation of the Shakespeare original by Joe Calarco, set in the repressed atmosphere of a modern Catholic boarding school for boys. First produced in New York in 1998 under the author's direction.

Produced in South Africa at the 2011 Grahamstown Festival by Abrahamse and Meyer Productions. Directed and designed by Fred Abrahamse, with Marcel Meyer as Romeo, James MacGregor as Juliet, Rory Acton Burnell as Mercutio/Friar Laurence/Lady Capulet and Alistair Moulton Black as Tybalt/Nurse.