| People's Romeo | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Mukul Ahmed |
| Date premiered | 6 October 2010 |
| Original language | English, Bengali |
| Genre | Drama |
People's Romeo is a play by British playwright Mukul Ahmed based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet .
Performed in both English and Bengali [1] [2] [3] it blends William Shakespeare's words with Bengali poetry [1] [2] and the Pala Gaan theatrical tradition [3] of song, music, dance and story-telling is used. [4] The original text, alongside modern English, is also used. [4]
The People's Romeo was developed across a two-year period by Wandsworth-based theatre company Tara Arts. [1] [2] The production's name – People's Romeo – reflects the sub-continent's traditions of People's Theatre, where performers tour with a minimum of props and a small cast. [4]
The cast of three actors; Delwar Hossain Dilu, Caitlin Thorburn and Leesa Gazi play multiple roles, [4] transitioning from one character, [3] although the story has been pared down. [4] Characters such as Mercutio and Count Paris have been left out all together. [4] Several important parts have been left out, notably, the reason for Romeo not knowing that Juliet has faked her death was omitted. [3] The company of five also includes [3] singer Sohini Alam joining in traditional and modern Bengali folk songs, [4] and percussionist Swagata Biswas provides us with a live musical score. [5] The set was designed by Sophie Jump's and the lighting designed by Howard Hudson. [5] [6]
The People's Romeo opened at Greenwich Theatre in September 2010, as part of a UK tour. [1] [2] Prior to a UK tour, it played five performances at TARA Studio ahead of visits to Greenwich, Plymouth, Wolverhampton, Crawley, London's Asia House and Waterman's Hull, Darlington and Birmingham. [7] The show was also staged at Hull Truck Theatre as part of Black History Month. [4]
Deborah Klayman of The Public Reviews rated People's Romeo it 3/5 called it "is energetic and entertaining with moments that are exciting, moving, and humorous." [3] Matthew Jenkins of News Hopper said, "Both charming and moving, People's Romeo is a brave attempt to try something genuinely new and makes for a culturally enriching and entertaining two hours." [1] [2]
The Stage said, "Director Mukul Ahmed may have taken several liberties with Shakespeare's original but the important elements remain and his cast of five performers, including a percussionist and vocalist create an utterly absorbing piece of theatre. [8] OffWestEnd.com said, "The People's Romeo is a dynamic cross-cultural performance made for our time that uses Pala Gaan, a popular Bengali folk theatre style that combines music, dance and storytelling to re-invent this classic of English theatre. [5]