People's Romeo

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People's Romeo
Written by Mukul Ahmed
Date premiered6 October 2010 (2010-10-06)
Original languageEnglish, Bengali
Genre Drama

People's Romeo is a play by British playwright Mukul Ahmed based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet .

Contents

Cast

Themes

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]

Production

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]

Tour

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]

Reception

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]

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Jenkin, Matthew (14 September 2010). "THEATRE REVIEW: People's Romeo at Greenwich Theatre ****". News Hopper. London. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Jenkin, Matthew (14 September 2010). "THEATRE REVIEW: People's Romeo at Greenwich Theatre ****". This Is Local London. London. Retrieved 1 June 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Klayman, Deborah (11 September 2010). "People's Romeo – TARA Arts (touring)". The Public Reviews. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "A Bengali take on the Bard's Romeo and Juliet". Hull Daily Mail . Hull. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "The People's Romeo". OffWestEnd. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Bussell, Karen (October 2010). "The People's Romeo (Plymouth)". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "'People's Romeo' in English and Bengali". Asian Image. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Vale, Paul (13 September 2010). "People's Romeo". The Stage . Retrieved 1 June 2015.
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