#benvolio is the more reasonable one and mercutio is the more silly one and they made him into a single guy named benny. what the fuck

[crazyw3irdo]

what is your opinion on gnomeo and juliet (2011)

they got rid of mercutio 0/10

[7k9sinthee]

Random headcanons;

⌑ Nsfw/Sfw?: SFW

⌑ Reader?: No

⌑ Genre?: Fluff, headcanons

⌑ Editted?: in the process...

Characters: Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Benvolio

ㄨ Romeo

⁺ Although extremely stupid- as exhibited from his irrational behavior, I believe he actually learns quite quickly.

⁺ When he was dancing at the Capulet part (1968 film), he learned quickly how to dance, although a bit poorly.

⁺ Anyways, he'd be the type to mess up a bit, glance over to someone else doing the same thing and then copy off from them.

Has probably tripped once or twice and always snaps his head back to blame someone for tripping. (Tybalt has been there once or twice...)

Secret handshakes with Mercutio and Benvolio- sometimes making one that requires all three present at once.

Everytime he's scolded his brain just. Flatlines. He literally doesn't take anything in. (Although a lesson not to do whatever got him in trouble in the first place.)

Plucks flowers from gardens to gift to Mercutio/Benvolio as a joke- more seriously to Juliet (..or yourself, if you'd like).

Every time he writes letters to specifically his friends, he adds a small " ! " to his signature.

Has so many inside jokes..

If he were to fall/trip, he'd fall right on his face. I don't make the rules. (I do)

When Romeo is happy, he always has a little pep in his step- like he's all giddy and happy.

Scratches his head when he's confused.

Seems like the type to be writing something and then accidentally misspell the easiest word ever.

Has a habit of just dozing off, leaving a lot of his friends confused

Sneaks out a bit, not a lot like Mercutio may but a reasonable amount to either meet up with friends or just for himself.

Writes horrible poetry that Benvolio and Mercutio support.

Definitely is the type to have a bedtime and tell his friends, "I can not come, as the moon rests high in the sky and beckons for me to sleep!"

Sneezes like a little girl imo

He definitely has a goofy, silly little smile.

Juliet

I just know she smells like flowers every day- how she does it? Remains a mystery..

So many little jokes with Nurse that no one else would know about.

Doesn't openly call Nurse "mom" but she enjoys to refer to Nurse as she would a mother rather than her biological mother.

Also kind of clumsy, she couldn't carry a bucket full of only water to save her.. (💔)

Actually sometimes indulges in reading poems time to time.

Very, very much the type to pick a flower and smell it.

Loves to pick up flowers, pedals, feathers, etc.

Probably has a collection of dried up flowers gifted to her over time.

Juliet really enjoys incorporating little cute things in her outfits!

Views Tybalt as an older brother rather than her father's cousin.

Makes references to things only Nurse knows so it leaves everyone else much confused- and on rare occasions Tybalt might get it, too.

Picks up her dress when she runs, like a princess.

Definitely the type to be like, "Excuse me. Mind your manners..." whenever she hears someone curse.

Whenever she sees Romeo, she faces fully towards him and holds her hands out - and he comes to pick her up and spin her like a little ballerina !!

Has attempted to draw/paint multiple times before, and whenever done- Lord Capulet always hangs it up with much pride no matter if it looks "funky."

Tybalt

"Grab me my rapier"

Definitely the type to take great pride in his swords

Actually, seems like the type to keep a GIANT sword collection.

He's definitely the type to overhear conversions in secret but then give the fattest side eyes/disgusting glares.

Tybalt 100% has his lips sealed with any secret. Never could get anything out of him.

Juliet actually hides behind Tybalt quite often (not usually physically), and Tybalt isn't afraid to defend his younger sister.

Also, 100% defends Nurse, or rather any woman in his life. He's most definitely a woman's boy.

Has the most sly grin you'll ever see in your life.

His deep voice actually very often scares people, so depending on who he's talking to; he'll either lower his volume and attempt to speak softer or keep speaking in much confidence.

He'll soften his voice for the nicer, quieter folk and speak loudly for the annoying and cocky guys.

Little bitty scars all over him from him attempting to perfect his sword fighting skills.

Very often flaunts off and attempts to look flashy and show-offish.

Even though he's old enough and pretty mature, he'll never ever consider drinking or smoking. He believes it's far too disgusting for himself.

Although Nurse isn't Tybalts true mother- Tybalt will have moments where "momma Nurse" slip out.

Actually kinda enjoys keeping things neat in order - in his room at least, outside, he doesn't mind getting a little messy.

On that topic... Tybalt very often helps out Nurse with chores and such, but no one really notices because he doesn't want to be seen like that (question mark)

The definition of wet soggy cat

Other than that- he just is overall very sweet and polite.

Benvolio

Definitely the type to write little poems or works of literature but always puts it to the side to "continue later"-

He never finishes them and usually Romeo would come by and read those works out to Benvolio as a way to just tease.

Has very, very specific humor- he only really laughs at inside jokes.

Of course, he'll have a nice laugh at a funny joke but, inside jokes are what really get him.

The type to accidentally snicker at the wrong moment and have to excuse himself. (😭)

Though this would only be around friends, he most definitely can control himself from laughing around Lord Montague and such.

Very polite fellow

Seems like the type to like cross his hands when sitting down and he sits down very politely and tightly-

He doesn't want to take up much space on benches anyways.

If he was a cat, he'd be that one cat with an apple that just sits there all polite getting pet by a giant wooden spoon.

Very gentle with everything and everyone. Either physically, emotionally, or verbally-

Despite being extremely polite, he is the one that has the best insults ("thee mother looks like a yellow belly, tavern hopping maniac, it's no surprise thou looks alike!", also said in the most polite way possible)

Has a nice, gentle voice. Slightly accented, though, unlike many.

The hat he usually wears - the one seen in act 1 (1968 film) - is one from long ago.

It was gifted to him, and he constantly wore it when he was a teen-ish, but it was a bit too big, so it'd cover quite a bit of his face.

Longer hair >>>

Somehow, has extremely beautiful, long lashes.

He strangely enough seems like the one to get hurt least often, but when he does, it's like the worst thing to ever happen. (Que Benvolio accidentally falling out a window)

Picks up little branches and sticks to collect randomly ?? He doesn't really do anything with them. The sticks either end up getting thrown out or forgotten about.

The type to be writing something and then accidentally slip up and create a massive mark in the middle of the paper without a way to hide it.

Has maybe fallen out a window before ?

Benvolio has so many unnecessary items laying around in his home

He has a collection of beads/rocks of sorts- all very polished and shiny.

Just a friendly reminder that these are all headcanons 🫶

[cto10121]

R&J Clown Takes Round ♾ + 6

In which Mercutio gets much (shipping) love as usual, more “R&J is a comedy/not a love story!!” nonsense, dumb headcanons, and more general R&J clown-foolery.

Cool Fanfic, Bro

You were told wrong, OP. I covered how Tybalt’s death was actually the catalyst elsewhere. Also, the Nurse is, too, a comic character providing comic relief, as well as the servingmen and Peter, yet they don’t die.

I guess this is my dead-inside self speaking, but…why? What is so special about Benvolio’s and Mercutio’s friendship that they are even shipped together? They have no romantic interaction or tension, all of their conversation is either about Romeo or the plot, and their dynamic overall is “Mercutio talks shit and Benvolio just tags along/humors him.” Romeo and Mercutio have more fun repartee in ONE scene than Benvolio and Mercutio do in the whole play. And then just before the duel Mercutio is ragging on Benvolio for secretly loving to fight and picking fights over dumb shit. #RelationshipGoals But I don’t know. People who ship Bencutio—what’s the draw to this ship for you?

Definitely, right? Romeo is so aromantic/asexual he has sex with Juliet on their wedding night. #JustAsexualThings #YouKnowYou’reAsexualWhen

Yeah, friends who have the same friend in common talk and hang out together a lot????? That’s unheard of, man.

“R&J Isn’t A Love Story Waaahhh”

OP shows (1) insightful braincell…before they cheerfully yeet it in the trash. Yeah, R&J is definitely portrayed as ~silly but beautiful—just look at how Shakespeare sinks the Juliet/Paris and Romeo/Rosaline ships so hard and portrays R&J’s relationship. Definitely the work of someone who is purposely writing R&J as a dime-a-dozen couple.

As for Juliet “resenting” her controlled existence and “relishing” her one chance at agency, that is non-canon. Actually, she comes across as very obedient in her first scene, to the point of silent and, well…16th century basic. “Je veux vivre” is simply a Gounod addition.

Shakespeare was so tired of instalove, he made fun of it by writing his own instalove love plots with Rosalind and Orlando, Phoebe and Rosalind (one-sided), Olivia and Viola/Cesario, all the four ladies and lords of Love’s Labour’s Lost, and Ferdinand and Miranda! Of course!!! What else would you do????

“Main love story is true, but also not love story.” You were so close, OP, what happened? Love stories and tragedies are not mutually exclusive, you know. In fact, I daresay the standard love story apart from the chivalric romances is tragic. Don’t feed the clowns!

You mean the myth where Eros kidnaps Psyche from her forced wedding/death pyre, takes her to his palace, has sex with her and impregnates her invisibly, and hides from her until she sneaks in trying to kill him because her sisters convinced her he was really a beast, only to flee from her while his mother does a Hera and makes her do seemingly impossible tasks?

Er. YMMV, de gustibus and all, but it has always been a very confused myth to me.

“aCTUALLY”

To be fair, I also did wonder why the Friar jumped to that conclusion and the exact nature of Rosaline’s chastity vow. English major minds think alike, it seems. But of course there are other explanations: Romeo may not have told him (unlikely, but there it is); Rosaline may have taken the vow for personal reasons, not religious ones, which would explain why the Friar, if he knew about it, did not take it seriously and why he thought Romeo had a chance with her after all. The vow could have just been to get all the men and fuckbois off her back, not just Romeo. But Rosaline’s making up the vow entirely just to get Romeo from ~stalking her is pure headcanon clownery.

[alleyskywalker]

I'm sorry to pull out this Pain TM again but:

Benvolio once again thought of Mercutio’s sword, oddly naked without its blue ribbon. Perhaps it had been tied as a joke, and perhaps Mercutio had only left it on because he thought the joke was funny, and to annoy those of his family who thought he ought not get so involved with the Montague-Capulet feud. But the fact remained, and it was that sword with its silly blue ribbon that Mercutio had raised in Romeo’s defense and had died holding. It felt like a much more romantic story than all the flustered, stolen kisses they had shared, away from prying eyes and unfriendly tongues.

“Does it surprise you that he loved you?” Romeo asked, sounding almost confused.

Benvolio could feel Romeo’s eyes on him. He looked up cautiously, his stomach twisting into knots. He didn’t know how to explain without making it sound like he had not trusted Mercutio, like they hadn’t been happy. “Not surprised, no. But it’s a little…Mercutio was never very straightforward with his feelings.”

Romeo smiled one of those sad, wistful smiles again. “No, he wasn’t.” He was thoughtful for a moment, then reached into an inner pocket and drew something out, held on to it for a moment, reluctant to part with it, then held it out to Benvolio. “You should have it.”

In Romeo’s hand, curled up like a baby snake, was a tattered piece of blue ribbon.

Benvolio’s heart skipped a beat. “Is that…?”

“Yes. The ribbon I tied to Mercutio’s sword. The sword…the sword I gave to Valentine, but I took the ribbon off first. I don’t have a lot of things to remember Mercutio by and all… You have most of the letters and the miniature and I… But you should have it.”

Benvolio shook his head quickly. “No, it’s yours. It was your joke, your ribbon. I don’t…”

“That’s how it started, but I think Mercutio never took it off because it…he was loyal to us, always, and he liked sporting Montague colors, put that in everyone’s face. Unnecessarily, perhaps – a theatrical show of loyalty, but still. And you were the Montague he loved.”

Benvolio reached for the ribbon, but stopped halfway. He closed his eyes and allowed the memories to wash over him again – Romeo in Mercutio’s lap, Mercutio’s arm around Romeo’s shoulders, their laugher and banter-insults and inside jokes Benvolio only halfway understood, the way Mercutio called him the sweetest, stupidest puppy I’ve ever met, with an affection Benvolio never heard used toward anyone else. These things had never made him jealous before – he had seen them for what they were when Mercutio was alive, there was no reason he should start seeing hidden meanings in them now.

He covered Romeo’s hand with his, and gently closed his fingers over the ribbon. “No, it’s yours. Mercutio and I were in love, but you were his best friend, his little brother, and he adored you. I have no right to intrude on that. I have our letters and his miniature, like a proper heartsick lover—” he smiled a little sadly, a little self-deprecating. “But you were always his reason to fight and to flaunt this stupid blue ribbon around town. It’s yours by right.”

Ahhh ok ok ok. There are so many things here, honestly, but I’m going to try to not this like an Essay. This is from And Then There Were Two.

 As we Know the Blue Ribbon is a standard headcanon of mind that basically happens in practically every canon-era verse/fic. It comes from my Romercutio roots/heart, and Ben isn’t wrong when he thinks its romantic, because when it was conceived as a headcanon it was supposed to be. (The idea being that when they’re in their tweens or so, Romeo ties a blue ribbon to Mercutio’s sword as kind of joke re: Mercutio being his/the Montague’s knight and where Romeo implicitly takes the role of the Fair Lady handing out favors at a tourney and he’s kind of making fun of himself too by basically going “yes I’m kinda girly and like romantic things.” But then Mercutio never takes the ribbon off, because he’d love to wear Romeo’s favor at a tourney, or anywhere else really, and he’s proud of his alliance with the Montagues. And well…it’s the one small way he can show he’s in love with Romeo while still having some plausible deniability.) But that’s in a Romercutio verse or at least a verse that’s not explicitly Bencutio. So how does it fit into a verse where Mercutio and Ben are in love with each other?

 And that is where we come to my other hill and something this fic kind of has a theme in part: romance and friendship being equally important but society not necessarily seeing it as such. Here, Mercutio was romantically into Benvolio and/but Romeo was his best friend, his little brother in a way. He loved both of them but in different ways. So, the ribbon doesn’t have a romantic subtext here, but still one of intense loyalty. Because Romeo is younger and because of who he is as a person, Mercutio was super protective of him. Ben is, of course, can’t help be a tiny bit jealous (since this is a thing he has to deal with somewhat in this fic) when he says “you were always his reason to fight and to flaunt this stupid blue ribbon around town.” But it’s also kind of true, in that Romeo needed more protecting than Benvolio – at least from Mercutio’s perspective and probably everyone else’s lbr – and he was the Montague heir, so in a way, the Montague “flag” was his flag by default.

 This romance/friendship tension is also set up with Romeo offering Ben the ribbon, even though, technically, this is a memento that’s clearly most relevant to him, since it was his joke, as Ben correctly points out. That, and also that Romeo is clearly pained to be parted from it; it’s one of the few physical things he has to remember Mercutio by. Benvolio has very standard romantic things: Mercutio’s portrait, letter (some of which, btw, are implied to have been to both boys, but Benvolio is the one who keeps them because it’s kind of an unspoken understanding that as the lover he would, and Romeo, of course, would be the sort to follow romance-prioritizing norms unquestioningly).

 Romeo, throughout this fic, suffers from the affliction of being indoctrinate into the social hierarchizing of relationships where friendship, no matter how strong, is seen/held as lesser than romance and blood-related family. It comes out in any number of ways: him giving the sword to Valentine and offering the ribbon to Ben, prioritizing Ben’s feelings of grief over his own to a pretty extreme extent, trying to suppress his own grief because “others lost more” (even though there’s no indication that Benvolio loved Mercutio more rather than differently and by all signs, Mercutio and Valentine weren’t super close). And yes, in part he does this out of love for Ben and because he also feels guilty regarding his part in Mercutio’s death (which unfortunately doesn’t fully get resolved, I realize) – something that Benvolio exacerbates during their off-screen fight before the funeral. But “you were the Montague he loved” in this scene is Romeo’s admission that he’s not important here, even though that’s not true, and the fact it’s not true is something that Benvolio has to admit to as well.

 Which he does – he reaches for the ribbon at first, desperate to have as many pieces of Mercutio for himself as he can, but when he stops and thinks, he has to realize he’s being unfair. While they were all friends, there was a part of Romeo and Mercutio’s bond that he wasn’t party to (inside jokes, their specific sort of banter, Mercutio’s hyper-protectiveness in a familial sort of way), in a similar way that Ben and Mercutio had things (romance, sex) that Romeo wasn’t a part of. It’s true that when I write Bencutio, I manage it with a specific split in which Bencutio have a sexual attraction which spurs a sort of romantic chemistry as well, but Romeo and Mercutio are basically soulmates – they just don’t want to kiss each other. (Which, IDK if making them basically queerplatonic is helpful to this specific Hill of Respect Friendship 2kForever but listen, Bencutio is my NOTP, I gotta balance it out with something.) But anyway…this is kind of where Ben’s bit of jealousy comes from – he and Mercutio aren’t particularly romantic people anyway in the sort of overt, poetic way Romeo is, and a lot of their relationship manifested sexually. Which was great while they were at it, but now that Mercutio’s gone, Ben can’t always help but compare it to some of these very emotionally intimate moments Romeo and Mercutio had, and he gets a little confused. It doesn’t really help that the background of a homophobic society is constantly telling him that his sexual desire for Mercutio was wrong and dirty and therefore it doesn’t always read well in comparison with Romeo and Mercutio’s “untainted” tenderness. In a more modern world, this at least would potentially not be quite as much of a stressor.

 Ok, this is already hitting 1k words so I’m gonna stop xD But thank you so much for the ask!

[adzuki-ren]

KenHina Romeo x Juliet AU ft. Bokuroo

The idea for this AU was born out of nowhere aside from the fact that I was listening to a cover I did for the second ED of the Romeo x Juliet anime “Goodbye, Yesterday”

And then my mind started going places and I ended up writing a fic for the Soulmates prompt (but could technically also apply to the Fantasy AU prompt) for BoKuroo Week 2020 on Twitter.

I adore the Romeo x Juliet anime, mostly because it screams Fire Emblem AU, and I’m a huge FE nerd. I don’t think I’ll write a whole thing on this AU (because I’m just not creative enough and can’t world-build for shit), but maybe I’ll write tiny excerpts like this in the future? Who knows.

But the idea I had wasn’t going to cast Kuroo and Bokuto as the star-crossed lovers. You may be thinking, “What the hey? I thought this was for Bokuroo Week?” And yes, you would be correct. And yes, it could still work. But I think it’d be more fitting for Hinata and Kenma to star as the R&J (or any other ship, but it’s KenHina ‘cuz I said so).

Bokuto would be Hinata’s (Juliet) Conrad/Tybalt and Kuroo would be Kenma’s (Romeo) Benvolio/Mercutio?

Kuroo & Kenma are still childhood friends

Bokuto is practically a big brother to Hinata, training as a knight at an early age but met curious lil’ Hinata when he snuck out to the training yard one day. They became fast friends.

Kenma & Kuroo belong to the Nekoma clan (Montagues) and Hinata is the sole survivor of the Karasuno clan.

Kenma’s loyal followers formed a truce with Hinata’s rebel faction. They don’t mind fighting alongside each other (their would-be enemies) if it’s their lieges’ wish.

The rest under the read-more is KenHina centric and unedited straight from by brain.

Hinata’s crossdressing (don’t have a name for “her” yet… Natsu! 🤯) is his civilian form

His 赤い疾風 name could be Sunset Crusader or something? Lol. But the masked hero is a “woman.”

The Sunset Crusader saves Prince Kenma from… something (lol not sweating the deets), and unlike actual RJ, they don’t bicker for silly heteronormative reasons (even tho Juliet was in disguise at the time). Kenma thanks Hinata quietly, and Hinata lightly chides him, but quickly goes back to being his friendly self and takes off. Kenma thinks about him but doesn’t think they’d meet again.

For whatever reason, Hinata still ends up at the grand ball as himself, masquerading. Kenma escapes to the balcony with the fountain and finds Hinata there. Their eyes lock and you know the rest. Kenma is perceptive ofc and recognizes Hinata as the one who saved him earlier. 

I should find a common ground to talk about, or just have them chat idly, whatever is necessary to connect them.

Just as they’re about to ask each other’s names, Kuroo comes to drag Kenma away. Kenma waves to Shouyou and thanks him for saving him earlier. He also adds, “See you again soon.”

Shouyou is just standing there, shocked for multiple reasons, the obvious one being that Kenma knew it was him. How did he know they would meet again? And for what? Did you think that I would have the answers to that? Lmao.

And unlike RJ again, Kenma doesn’t only fall in love with one of Hinata’s personas. But let’s be real, Hinata wouldn’t be able to fake multiple personas on his own anyway.

They do meet again, for what, I have no clue. (Fictional medieval volleyball? But with pegasi? LMAO) They instantly click and become closer in such a short time.

Same as in RJ though, Hinata spirals into depression when he finds out that Kenma belongs to the Nekoma clan, sworn enemy of the long fallen Karasuno clan that Hinata was the last of. He shuts himself in for a few days, but with the coaxing of his friends (his current family and allies, haven’t decided who they are yet aside from Bo), he picks himself up. His determination to get answers drives him to find Kenma, to speak to him and to hear what he has to say for himself.

Kenma is a bit shook to learn about Hinata’s origins, but it doesn’t change how he feels about him. He admits that everything about his clan is true and that he had been drilled about Karasuno being their sworn rivals at an early age, knew about the clan’s last survivor. Normally, he just obeys the will of his superiors because it was too troublesome not to (haven’t decided who the king and stuff are), but for Shouyou, he would do anything.

He runs off with Shouyou and they fight for their beliefs, trying to stop the war that has broken out between the two clans. Just like Juliet, Shouyou takes on the guise of the Sunset Crusader again, instead of the Karasuno name.

[365days365movies]

February 6, 2021: Romeo + Juliet (1996)

From the top!

Two households, both alike in dignity In Fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross’d lover take their life; Whose misadventured, piteous overthrows Do, with their death, bury their parents’ strife The fearful passage of the death-mark’d love, And the continuance of their parents’ rage Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage; The which, if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strike to mend.

I mean, c’mon. It’s Shakespeare, I practically had to.

Which is why it may come as a surprise to hear that I think this play is overrated, far too overexposed, and honestly stars two of the most obnoxiously immature protagonists that Shakespeare ever wrote. Which is not to say that I don’t like it, but it is to say that it isn’t my favorite. Which one is my favorite, you ask? Eh, I vacillate between a few, but I might get into it, we’ll see.

Weirdly fitting, though, since this film is directed by a director who also isn’t my favorite. Can’t say I have a definitive favorite director either, but Baz Luhrmann ain’t it. To be fair, I haven’t seen Moulin Rouge (probably should, huh?), but his turn on The Great Gatsby...wasn’t my favorite, I’ll just leave it at that.

And while we’re into it, lemme just address Romeo and Juliet adaptations on film real quick. To be completely transparent, before today...I’ve only seen one adaptation of the play: Franco Zeffirelli’s excellent 1968 turn on it, and it’s a fantastic adaptation at that. Sone of you, however, may now be realizing that, if I’ve only seen one adaptation of the play...there’s an extremely glaring omission to my film repertoire.

Yeaaaaaaaaah...we’ll get there, I promise.

But, of course, the adaptations only scratch the surface of this plays influence. See, the whole point of the rivalry between the Montagues and the Capulets is that it’s SO OLD, that nobody truly remembers why it started in the first place. Because of that, other romance films have sought to supply a reason for that rivalry.

In other words, the two protagonists destined to fall in love often come from two backgrounds, if not families, that class. And, yes, only ONE FILM that I’ve watched this month doesn’t do that. Dirty Dancing and The Notebook make their “ancient grudge” class-based; low-class vs. upper-class. Even You’ve Got Mail makes it about money, although that one’s a little more of a stretch. In any case, versions of this trope have lasted for centuries, and it’s...maybe poisoned romantic cinema? I mean, there’s a reason they all seem similar. They’re all taking from a classic. And, yeah, more of them than you’d think use this formula. I mean...

Hell, if you think about it, both of them are technically dead by the end.

Anyway, jumping right smack dab into the ‘90s, where teen heartthrob of the decade, Leo DiCaprio himself, is cast to play the titular teen boy, and sort-of popular at the time Claire Danes is cast as the titular teen girl. Put them together, and you have a hatred that will last for centuries. Because yeah, they HATED each other apparently. Let’s watch! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

...Look, here’s a quick recap of a story that EVERYBODY KNOWS.

Two families hate each other, and each has a teenage kid; a boy named Romeo and a girl named Juliet. They see each other at a party, they IMMEDIATELY get those teenage hormones a flowing and fall in love at first sight. They talk a few times, then decide to get married. Romeo’s friends say, “Dude, her family’s all dicks,” and Romeo says “naw, dude, she’s hawt,” They hook up, and they get secret-married. But, since they can’t be together in life, and since Juliet’s supposed to marry a whole other dude, Juliet runs to the priest and says, “hey, fake my death real quick?” He gives her a potion, she pretends to be dead, Romeo finds out (after one of his friends is killed by Juliet’s cousin), and runs to her side. Dude then ACTUALLY kills himself with poison, only for Juliet to wake up, see his dead body, and then kill HERSELF with a KNIFE, and then the families find out, and the Prince comes by and just says, “Goddamn, you guys are dicks. So much so that you killed your kids, congrats.” And that’s the end.

Yeah. Two hours of play and movie (nice touch, by the way, Luhrman) compressed into a paragraph. And yet...I’m still gonna recap this movie. Glutton for punishment, I guess. And with that said...

It all starts with a newscaster, speaking the lines of the Prologue in the guise of a newscast, which is...very neat, actually! That’s followed by...Pete Postlethwaite saying the whole thing over again, backed by a hell of a lot of fast cut editing.

...Oh God, it’s a Luhrmann movie. I forgot. Also, uh...really trying to stretch out that runtime to make that 2-hour mark, huh, Bazzie? I admire that you’re trying to stick to that “two hour-stage” quote from the Prologue, really I do...but you had to repeat the Prologue TWICE to do that?

As the lines flash on screen, we’re also introduced to out major players, whom I’ll just introduce as they come up. After a little montage of the movie to come, and a confirmation that the ancient grudge has broken out into a gang war on the streets of Verona Beach (clever), we jump in the car of a few Montagues: Sampson (Jaime Kennedy), Benvolio (Dash Mihok), and Gregory (Zak Orth).

At a gas station, they meet some Capulets, specifically Abra (Vincent Laresca) and a few others. After some thumb-biting, they all draw their swords. Which are guns that have sword written on them. Well, that’s just silly.

This standoff is interrupted by the arrival of another Capulet: Tybalt (John Leguizamo). This, of course, leads to a swordfight (ugh), during which all players are, just...REAL dramatic with their movements, holy shit. In the process, Sampson’s shot (or...stabbed, I dunno), and the gas station explodes.

It’s war in the streets now, as Tybalt and Benvolio are eventually intercepted by Captain Prince (Vondie Curtis-Hall), the chief of police for Verona Beach. He reads out his rage upon the heads of the families. For the Montagues, these heads are Ted (Brian Dennehy) and Caroline (Christina Pickles); and for the Capulets, they’re Fulgencio (Paul Sorvino) and Gloria (Diane Venora). Is...is the grudge taking place because one of them is named “Ted,” and the other is FUCKING “FULGENCIO”? Because that’s one hell of a dichotomy.

Captain Prince lets them all off with a warning (I mean, no, they should ALL be arrested), and Caroline and Ted question the whereabouts of their melodramatic emo son. That son is, of course, Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio), who laments poetically about how fucked up his family is.

Hanging out at a decrepit carnival (because of course he is), he’s soon found by Benvolio, and he laments on the lack of love between their two families. They bond over talk of women, and decide to secretly go to a party held by the Capulets that night to check out some girls.

Meanwhile, Fulgencio is speaking about this whole mess to Dave Paris (Paul Rudd). D...Dave? Really? We’re keepin’ fuckin’ Benvolio and Balthasar, but we had to name Paris DAVE? Guys, a little consistency with the name shit, PLEASE! Anyway, Dave (uuuuugh) is the governor’s son, and very wealthy, while also being a suitor for Fulgencio’s daughter.

That daughter is, of course, Juliet (Claire Danes), who’s being attended by her vain mother and kindly Nurse (Miriam Margoyles). As her mother’s preparing for the party, she talks up Paris as a suitor, although Juliet doesn’t seem SUPER into it. And s the Nurse tells her to “seek happy nights to happy days,” we go to Sycamore Grove, and to another party.

And this is where we meet my favorite character (everybody’s favorite character, let’s be honest): Mercutio (Harold Perrineau). Mercutio has been invited to the Capulet’s party, and invites Romeo to come along, in disguise. In the process, he gives one of the play’s most famous monologues: Queen Mab’s Speech. It’s truncated here, ad to be frank, Perrineau’s performance is a bit...over the top. But, it ends up to be fairly effective.

Also, Queen Mab is ecstasy. Yeah, that kinda dulled by enthusiasm for the whole enterprise, I ain’t gonna lie. But Romeo lies with Queen La, and they head to the Capulet’s party. And we’re about to hit PEAK LUHRMANN, people.

Look, I’m lame, I’ve never really done drugs, ecstasy included...but it FEELS like I’ve taken something now. And Romeo’s now trying to sober-up a bit. He dunks his head into a sink in the bathroom, and looks at a tropical aquarium that’s in there. And through that aquarium...

However, Juliet’s quickly spirited away by Nurse, and brought to dance with Dave. Romeo, meanwhile, gives his “Did my heart love till now” speech, and DOESN’T SAY THAT SHE DOTH TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN BRIGHT??? Seriously, the beginning of that speech is completely deleted. That line, in and of itself, should’ve been left in.

Anyway, Romeo and Juliet speak, and the teenagers kiss...a lot. And yeah, they do kiss in this scene in the ply, but not that much. Immediately afterwards, they discover their family alliances, and Romeo and Mercutio flee the party. Romeo heads back soon after, and, well...you know the line. But soft...

This movie...LOVES water, huh? We see both Romeo and Juliet from underwater at separate points, they see each other for the first time through an aquarium, they’re making out in a pool right now. I mean, I’m sure there’s some symbolism to that, but I’m not sure what it is yet.

Anyway, the two starcross’d lover come just short of crossing stars, and they IMMEDIATELY get engaged to marry.

After a bit of ‘90s music whiplash, we meet Father Laurence (Pete Postlethwaite), a botany-loving priest, and soon-to-be ally to the young couple. Romeo asks Laurence to wed them, despite the fact that Romeo actually was in love with a woman named Rosaline. But, yeah, she’s one of the unseen casualties of this play, only sometimes making it into adaptations. As Romeo speaks to the Priest, I think this is a great time to mention that there is a FUCKTON of Jesus and Christian imagery in this movie. Water and Jesus, goddamn.

The Priest agrees, believing that a marriage between the two could bring peace to Verona Beach at last. We also get a bunch of quick edits showing various parts of the Luhrmann Shakespeare Cinematic Universe, all backed by a choir boy singing “When Doves Cry.” This is an...unusual movie.

It also seems that Tybalt has issued a challenge against Romeo, which Mercutio and Benvolio muse upon. They meet with Romeo on the beach, and as they hang around, their revelry is interrupted by the arrival of the Nurse. She gives him a warning not to fuck with Juliet’s heart, which he says that he won’t, as they’re planning on marrying. She appears to approve, but Mercutio seems not to. Definitely going with a more superficially mercurial take on the character, which fits. But that’ll be more apparent later.

Nurse goes to Juliet, and...OK, is she supposed to be Italian or Hispanic? Because I feel like I’m supposed to be mildly offended, but I don’t even know what she’s going for here. Anyway, the wedding time approaches, and the two get wed in secret. But on the beach, Tybalt has come to go after Romeo. Romeo tries to make amends, even giving up his “sword” to him, much to Mercutio’s anger. Which, uh...he’s not gonna stand for.

And, of course, Mercutio’s fatally stabbed while defending Romeo’s honor. He lays A PLAGUE O’ BOTH THEIR HOUSES, and dies. Romeo’s PISSED, and immediately goes to kill Tybalt. That leads to Romeo’s banishment, although they consummate their marriage before he takes off. Also, Juliet KNOWS that he KILLED HER COUSIN...but it’s Leo, I guess, and...hormones.

Romeo’s banished and goes to Mantua, AKA a trailer park in the middle of the desert. Juliet, meanwhile, is commanded by her father to marry Paris, although she REALLY isn’t into it now! She goes to Laurence and, yeah, threatens to kill him AND herself if he doesn’t have an idea. Hormones, man. They’ll fuck you UP.

Laurence’s solution, of course, is to have Juliet pretend to have killed herself by drinking a potion. No idea why he comes up with this idea, or has the skill to make the potion, but some questions aren’t meant to be asked or answered. He also says to that he’ll send a litter to Romeo, to let him know what the deal is.

Juliet pretends to kill herself, and it interred with her relatives. Meanwhile, Romeo’s cousin Balthasar (Jesse Bradford) comes by the desert, having just gone to Juliet’s funeral, and tells him that Juliet’s dead. And since Romeo never got the goddamn letter, he’s decided, “Well! Guess I’m gonna kill myself.”

He gets some poison, then goes to Juliet’s tomb, which is...decked in neon crosses. I mean, it looks nice, even it’s very, uh...over the top. Goddamn.

And, at this point, you know how this goes. Romeo drinks the poison and dies, Juliet wakes up JUST after, then kills herself as well, and the parents of both parties arrive to see them both dead, along with the Prince, who says “Y’ALL ARE DICKS,” and bounces.

That’s Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet. And it’s a movie. Yeah, that I’ll give you. What did I think? What rating does it get? Well...I’ll elucidate in the Review.

[hell-heron]

Romeo and Juliet - Globe production 2009

So, as I think every Shakespeare person on this site, I've spent the past few days rewatching my favorite parts of this over and over again, but only now I've decided to talk about it a lot more in depth and watch all of it. So, did I like it? Yeah, I have to say I expected to like it more because the clips I had been able to watch a while ago were mostly featuring Ellie Kendrick's Juliet's solo scenes which are imho the highlight of the production.

The only comment on this I read from someone whose opinion I trust mentioned there is a lack of chemistry between the titular characters and thst the romance comes off as kind of too childish and silly. Now, it's probably because my opinion of the ideal chemistry is quite less sexually charged than most people, but I only partly agree with this. For example, the lark scene was definitely underwhelming (tho I liked the little preamble where Romeo stares, obviously scared, out of the window and Juliet reaches him as the chorus sings) and the courtship sonnet just average, but the balcony was exceptionally good, Zeffirelli levels even, a perfect balance of flirty humor, passion, tenderness and enthusiasm, also helped by the fact both actors decided this was the moment to be a bit more natural in their acting and drop the... Comedical conceit? I'm gonna elaborate a bit more on this later, but anyway it was very good. There is definitely some tonal issue with the romance, but imho it's more due to the overall inability of almost anyone in this cast to play in a tragedy than romantic chemistry: these kids would have played Beatrice and Benedick just fine.

It's very clear that the director's intent in this was to highlight this play's overlooked comedic influence and, while I appreciate it... Eh it's a bit of a mixed bag. I like highlighting the humor and snark that is already present, especially the two lovers', I kinda enjoy the comedic servant character, some scenes were done in a really nice and original way, but unfortunately it also means everything after the duel falls really emotionally flat. The deaths in particular were hard to watch. I also think Tybalt was underused in this sense and was way too serious (sooo sad because the actor is really pretty and seems good tho he was given fuck all to do) while Paris should have been less comedic, given that the fact this doesn't cut the sexual-harrassment-in-church-scene (THANK GOD) makes him REALLY sleazy and a legitimate threat for Juliet. Though I love the scene where the Capulet's have to basically passively aggressively kick him out of the house.

Another noteworthy point is that the script cuts almost nothing, a few scenes are shortened but all are present. Personally I find this great as I am a big fan of a lot of scenes that are often unappreciated and cut - the aforementioned conversation between Paris and Juliet, the scene were Juliet complains about the nurse being late, a few Bencutio-inclined scenes etc. However they really could have used to skip a few purely comedic scenes involving the servants, and the prologues, seriously? The prologues in the year of our lord 2009?

There's also a little added bickering between Lord and Lady C about whether to have the wedding on Thursday or Wednesday to make fun of Shakespeare fucking up the timeline, which is obviously awkward and unnecessarily but lord do I respect the principle.

The costumes are good, imho, a bit plain/stiff in some cases. In particular I'd like to know what possessed them to have gray as Juliet's main color. But for the rest they look nice, especially Lady C's, Nurse's and the young men. I also appreciate that Juliet wears blue and Romeo red for the wedding, it's really pretty and symbolic, and that there's a difference made clear between everyday clothes and the nice ones for the party or the wedding for Romeo too. I also love his ball headdress of twigs and feathers, very cute and fairylike.

Now - the characterization. As I mentioned I was extremely pleasantly surprised by Ellie Kendrick's Juliet. She's the first actress that I think captures Juliet's snark and feeling of like... Overwhelming urgency and intensity. When she says on the balcony that she's incapable of being as coy and poised and careful with her feelings as other girls, it's believable, when she complains about old people being slow and acting like they're already dead compared to her warm youthful blood and passion, it's... A bit mean as teenage girls will be, but believable. One thing I love about Juliet how Shakespeare wrote is that she has a lot of these little character touches that set her apart from a Stock Romantic Maiden and she really makes it shine more than any other actress. My issue is that her portrayal changes very little through the play: in some cases it works well even in heavier scenes (for example the conversation with Paris and then with Friar Lawrence has such fervor and bitterness to it, I love her little snarky huff when FL doubts she will have the courage to go through with her plans) in other it really doesn't. The poison speech is really, really jarring, I know her speeding up like crazy is meant to convey anxiety but she doesn't really make it come across imho, and she shows almost no emotion in her death. Points added for the Gallop apace fiery footed steeds speech tho, it's really charming and mischievous ad I loved it. She also does surprisingly well with the reaction to Romeo's banishment despite not being usually good with sad scenes

Now, Romeo... Romeo seemed really mediocre to me from the clips and then he grew on me, but he's quite strange. In most of his scenes he seems... Uhm, too dramatic? Too conscious of the fact he's acting? Which I don't know if it's meant to be reflective of Romeo's personality or simply the actor's style. I could appreciate it as a characterization choice if he started acting more naturally after meeting Juliet and dropping his Unrequited Love Angst (which he does for a while), but then for some reason he goes back to it, to the point where the duel with Paris and his death is the worst offender. So it's really unclear what he's doing. His best scenes are definitely the balcony, the conversation with Friar Lawrence (such genuine affection and complicity! This production does GREAT at establishing the kids' relationships with their surrogate parents, I wish it was more common) and his conversation with the nurse, which coincidentally are those where he acts more natural. In these scenes, he comes off as really sweet, enthusiastic and outgoing but a bit awkward. Real quality facial expressions. Again, feels believable when Mercutio says "now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo!". I have a ridiculous soft spot for the moment where he tries to make the "Young Romeo will be older when you find him than he was when you sought him out" joke and it falls completely flat and Nurse just stares at him weirdly.

Overall I appreciate the intent of the actors to give the lovers more of an individual personality than usual, but they take it too far and don't drop it at the appropriate moment

Now, for the secondary cast. Nurse is great, one of the best in the cast for ability to play both comedy and tragedy I think, I liked Lady C's characterization, more bumbling/distressed/trying and failing to parent emotionally inept mom than the usual Slutty Wine Mom which is starting to honestly bore me, Friar Lawrence is really cute and I love they gave him his speech about flowers. The prince is completely forgettable, Lord C a bit too bumbling to be intimidating imho, the Montague nonexistent. I already talked about my issues with Paris

Passing to the boys people actually care about here:

- Tybalt unfortunately doesn't offer much to like. He's very serious and poised and mhh just lacks feral energy. His scene with Lord Capulet is good but the fights are nothing special. He gets slapped by Lord C also :/

- Benvolio is cute! He gets a bit more frat-boyish characterization which is nice after all these tiring nerdy cinnamon roll too pure for this world portrayals, and he's very distinctive from Romeo. I think there's also great Bencutio chemistry here, they had some great scenes in the one after the ball where they look for Romeo together and the "more than prince of cats scenes". The first in particular, featuring the drunk boys trying and failing to make rhymes to conjure Romeo, is one of the better accomplished comedic scenes. Unfortunately there's not as much mileage to take from the "Thou art as hot in thy mood as any Jack in Italy" conversation, he doesn't get mad about it :/. For the rest I like his part in the opening fight and his anger at Romeo in the post-duel scene. Also he's green-coded which is nice

- Mercutio... Agh. So there's a similar problem here as with the lovers, acts great in more light toned, underrated scenes but the main ones are somewhat underwhelming. All the Montacrew conversations are delightful, he's very expressive in his gestures. The aforementioned Bencutio scenes are great and so is the one with the nurse, tho I wish he didn't kiss her, it's not really necessary to resort to sexual harassment to show him as an annoying dick. However there are some points where he comes off WAY more bitter than necessary at Romeo's romantic exploits and ??? People are aware you don't HAVE TO code him as in unrequited love with Romeo if you don't intend to do anything with it, are they? (tho they do have a very cute scene where they lie on the ground together and snuggle as they banter) However, the queen Mab speech and the duel, which are the most important, fall very flat. He can't make up his mind on whether the queen Mab speech is a breakdown or just a ramble to show off his wit, and the Montague boys definitely react like it's the latter. He shows some very nice anger in the "I talk of dreams" bit tho. Overall it's weird and seems boring, too long

I need to have a full paragraph to talk about the duel because it's imho one of the most botched scenes. It's overpowered by the drums, confusing and chaotic not in a good way. Tybalt doesn't seem very interested in fighting Mercutio, nor the other way around, Tybalt seems actually almost uneasy and like he accepted because he was embarrassed to refuse. However this doesn't reflect in the actual fight, which is very violent where this would make me expect a Zeffirelli-like, playful and dramatic duel that goes tragically wrong. Mercutio's death is fairly cold, save for the plague o'er both your houses line which is always awesome, and maybe i influenced by the musical but there's a strong lack of reaction and affection from the Montague boys, they don't touch or hug or even like... Cry or anything. I do like Romeo and Tybalt's duel, in particularly the fact it's mainly a fistfight, to emphasize how much rawer and realer it is than the first one - tho again, because the first one is more violent than warranted the contrast loses a little in strength. There's also no emotion or reaction whatsoever from Tybalt at any point which is a little weird given how this started.

Romeo's reaction is also not great. He's mainly angry, although understandably, doesn't seem to feel guilty or sad at all about either Tybalt or Mercutio. He also repeatedly punches Tybalt's corpse, which... This coupled with the fact they keep him killing Paris, but not the scene where he talks to Tybalt's corpse in the crypt is a little weird. I know some people like to play Romeo's arc as a descent into darkness with him losing his principles and natural gentleness as he's pushed off the deep end, and I'm not necessarily opposed to it, but I don't think anyone involved in this has the capability to handle that well, so it just seems strange and out of character.

He does break down a little in the following scene with Friar Lawrence, but still he doesn't seen particularly mad about anything but his banishment. I do love how he emphasize his feeling of betrayal from his One Trusted Adult tho.

So, overall I really like this. Great cast, some wonderful ideas, very vivid and fun to see. I just wish they could have balanced tragedy and comedy better because literally all the issues come from there

[aki-draws-things]

I hope this is enjoyable to you but: attacked in their sleep for Tyvolio? 😘 i love your angst wahah

It went a bit out of the prompt for some reasons, I’m sorry for that... And Benvolio really should avoid jokes in some moments...

@badthingshappenbingo

Prompt: Attacked in their sleep

Fandom: Romeo et juliette

Ship: Tyvolio

Benvolio knew that the Capulet he brutally punched would come after him sooner or later, he was a Capulet, and an angry one. What Benvolio didn’t think was to find him in his room in the dead of the night while he was already in bed almost asleep. And hopefully waiting for Tybalt to show up to spend the night by his side. - If he could go past Juliet, of course. -

“You really have a thing for knives, don’t you?” Benvolio wanted to sit up so he could have a better view of the man but he pushed him down, the knife shimmering in the low light of the lamp, his nose still crooked and big since their last encounter, Benvolio almost laughed at that. Except now he was the one with a knife pressed against the skin, and he remembered all the blood coming from Tybalt as he gasped for breath, it wasn’t the time or place for laughing of his nose.

“And for trying to cut throats.” He added anyway making him, if possible, angrier. “You know, it’s not nice to enter someone’s bedroom while they’re sleeping, unless it’s your lover, and unfortunately for you, I’m not.” The knife got pressed harder on him, a silent warning to stop talking.

“You broke my nose. - He actually sounded like a child, offended for something he’s been told he couldn’t have. - Your damn cousin ran around and married Lady Juliet. And you corrupted that fool that is Tybalt.”

“So you break in my room, wake me up with a God damn knife for… That? To complain of things that are not my fault? - He wanted to sigh in annoyance. Or maybe yawn. Or again, both. - Well, no. The nose is my fault, yes, I take great pleasure in taking the merit for that. It suits you better.” In another moment, with a better light, Benvolio would have seen him grow more and more red with anger. “But now I really want to go back to sleep so, if you don’t mind…”

“I will fucking kill you!”

Benvolio was lucky he was fast, even if half asleep, his movements weren’t perfect nor swift as usually, but he was fast enough to roll on the mattress before the knife hit the pillow where a moment before was his face.

Tybalt wasn’t completely sure of what possessed him to go all the way to the Montague Palace in the middle of the night and climbing the tree right in front of Benvolio’s balcony. Sure, he did that other times, and Benvolio never closed the window so that he could get in without having to wake him, one of the branches was strong enough to keep his weight and take him at the right distance to jump without risking to fall. - “I would fall on my feet anyway. I’m a cat after all, right?” He said, for once embracing the nickname Mercutio gave him. - He was climbing, fully knowing that in the morning Juliet would get mad for his little night trip, especially after the last wound he got.

He hid better on the tree when he heard voices coming from the room before realizing what was really happening. He jumped on the balcony and entered the room moving silently behind the Capulet.

“Nowhere else to run.” The boy smiled when Benvolio hit the wall with his back trying to get away from him and closer to a sword or something he could use as a weapon.

“Neither do you, cousin dear.” Tybalt said, voice low, dangerous, when the Capulet turned, the sword coming down to strike him, he moved to the side grabbing his arm and twisting it. Not hard enough to make him drop the weapon but enough, at least, to take place between him and Benvolio.

“Oh, look at that. The dog returned to its nest.” Tybalt cocked his head, amused, his eyes never leaving the sword, careful of each and every movement.

“It’s a kennel, you uncultured ape!” Benvolio protested loudly from behind him, still sitting on the floor, earning a soft laugh from Tybalt and a growl from his attacker.

“I don’t think it’s the right time to correct people on where animals sleeps in, Volio.” Tybalt turned just slightly to look at him but quickly returned to face the other man when Benvolio suddenly turned worried. He moved closer, the knife raised and Tybalt barely had the time to lift his arms to protect the face. A chocked sound escaped him when the blade once again cut through his skin, slashing his arm. He pushed him back ignoring the stinging pain and the blood he could already feel saturating the sleeves, he pushed him until they were both standing in the balcony.

Benvolio rushed to his feet and grabbed the sword he left by the door uncaring of all the noise they were making and that probably already alerted part of his family, Romeo for sure, probably his uncle and aunt too, and some others. It would be hard to explain now, but one thing at time.

The knife left a small cut on Tybalt’s cheek before going down and slashing the shirt open.

“Balt!” Benvolio couldn’t care of who would hear him now, it wasn’t important, not as much as Tybalt in that moment. Tybalt who found the strength to lift the Capulet enough to make him tumble over the railing and fall.

The sound he made when he touched the ground was covered by Lord Montague shooting the door open, sword already in hand, followed shortly by his wife and Romeo.

Tybalt looked down breathing heavily before turning to Benvolio, still unaware of the other Montagues.

“Are you okay? Unharmed? He didn’t – Oh God, Volio, he didn’t hurt you, right?” He grabbed him, took Benvolio’s face in his hands scanning his body for wounds. “Not even some dignity… coming here while you were sleeping to kill you…” He would have continued, hands gently caressing Benvolio’s cheeks as the Montague dropped the sword and was unsure of were to touch Tybalt, scared of all the blood that once again turned his clothes a darker shade of red.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Tybalt turned, his vision went out of focus for a couple of seconds at the movement and he had to blink before recognizing who was there.

“Well… - He started, his voice coming out smaller than expected for some unknown reason, Benvolio’s hands closed on his shoulders trying to steady him. - I’m afraid you’ll find a dead Capulet in your back garden, Lord Montague...” He blinked again trying to send away the black dots that began dancing before his eyes. “But… But I had a very much valid reason for that. A – a valid one, yes.” He tried to smile, to sound confident, to gain, somehow, his favor. He didn’t hear his answer, only Benvolio’s voice, far far away, calling urgently his name. He could hear fear, despair. The wounds weren’t that bad, Tybalt was sure of that. Mostly sure. He saw blood on the balcony beneath his feet when he looked down. Then nothing.

“So, he saved you. After a Capulet sneaked in your room and tried to kill you in your sleep.” It sounded so stupid now that his uncle was summing it up for the third time, but it was true, it really was. Benvolio simply nodded, his eyes never leaving Tybalt, his hand holding his tightly, fearing to see him disappear. All he could see was red. His clothes, his hands, the bandages. Hell, doctors weren’t even sure he would last the night!

“He did. - His voice was small, he felt tired, and the night was still long, but he wouldn’t sleep now. - Always does. He –” Benvolio stopped, his grip tightened and his lips quivered when he tried to speak. “He always gets hurt because of me. Always…” He leaned closer brushing his lips on Tybalt’s forehead, there will be more questions to answer now, he knew all too well but he didn’t care.

“I really am the worst boyfriend, I can’t even protect the one that means the most to me…” He knelt next to the bed, his forehead pressed on the mattress and Tybalt’s hand still held tight in his, an apology repeated over and over again, muffled on the blankets wet with tears.

He thought he knew guilty last time, how fool he had been. How silly, how naïve. But now – now he did and it was eating him alive.

He didn’t even know if he would ever wake up so he could make up for that.

[londontheatre]

Montagues and Capulets

Romeo and Juliet is probably one of the World’s most performed plays; I have seen at least ten productions over the years – it remains timeless and if performed well, is a beautiful production. When I heard that Colab Theatre were tackling the piece in their own special way I just had to experience the production for myself!

Unlike other Colab productions, there is no tying up of people (well, not the audience/participants anyway) and no gun shots or crawling through dark corridors on your knees. However, there is a fair amount of clambering about, climbing ladders, shouting as loud as possible and an arm wrestle or two. If you do decide to go I suggest wearing flat shoes/trainers and trousers. Also, if you struggle with access then talk to the company before you book a ticket.

Turning up to the venue off Borough High Street, I was given a disclaimer to sign, agreeing that if I fell I wouldn’t sue them! I was then stamped as a Montague and walked through to the bar.

In my estimation, there were around 50 people at the 7.00pm show. Our invitation told us that 1990s attire was encouraged, especially band outfits. I struggled to find something suitable so wore my Bon Jovi Hoody (yes, they were very popular in the 90s) others had florescent dummies and glow sticks. All of this was to get us in the vibe, to make us feel like we were back in a 90s warehouse squat.

The audience of willing participants are given a safe word, and the piece begins. I’m a Montague. I’m inducted into the Montague family and I am given my new name, Dragon Blood Montague. I learn the chant and within minutes of entering their warehouse space, I am screaming out my hate for the evil Capulet family. I am a Montague, I drink Capulet Blood. I have my warpaint on and I am committed to the production.

With immersive theatre you tend to get out what you put in. I’d say that 90% of Friday’s audience were enjoying the show and taking part. There were a few people who didn’t seem to get it and it was quite off-putting to have them there, especially when they were just sitting around texting on their phones while the rest of the group were playing dodge ball and starting a riot!

The audience is split in two, so my review can only reflect my experience of the Montagues, however, I think I was on the far superior side!

Now, those who know the Shakespeare play well, know that Shakespeare did not tell us why the families were at war, Colab Theatre do tell you. I’m not going to share with you what that reason is, but it gives gravitas to the full production and allows you to embrace your Montague heritage and fight fiercely for your name.

What follows is a fabulously fun two hours of pure enjoyment, silliness and as I like to call it, Shakespeare bingo. If you don’t know the play, this won’t remove any of your enjoyment, but if you do recognise any of the text then it will add to your pleasure, I assure you.

What is utterly brilliant about this show is its believability. I never thought you could speak in iambic pentameter one moment, blank verse the next, then move into a lexicon of swear words and insults yet feel like it fits together seamlessly. It is a credit to the cast that the production isn’t perceived as just a game. The performers are truly talented actors who really do embody their characters and allow you to become absorbed in their world. This to me is perfect immersive theatre and what all immersive theatre companies should be doing.

I loved the piece; I danced like a crazy fool at a rave with Juliet’s nurse, who was incidentally dressed in a Spice Girls outfit – you know the Union Jack one that Geri wore at the Brits. I also played dodgeball and threw a football at Tybalt (maybe if I hurt him then he wouldn’t be able to murder the lovely Mercutio later in the play!). I partied in an after-hour activity in the Church of Friar Laurence and I almost shed a tear when Juliet woke up to find Romeo dead at her feet. I also had the opportunity to question Romeo’s love for Juliet and witnessed the wedding of the ill-fated star-crossed lovers.

I can’t review the piece without mentioning the fight scenes. The coordination of these scenes was amazing, really enjoyable to watch and slightly scary having the action happening around me. Being able to stand over the dead bodies of Tybalt and Mercutio is not as I’d expected.

The piece is a true ensemble production where all the performers are working together to guide the audience through their journey. With characterisations stolen from the “real world” Lord Montague reminded me of Ray Winstone; Romeo a love sick fool; Mercutio that friend who is always in a track suit larking about in the pub; Tybalt in his Del Boy sheep-skin jacket, and Paris in his red chinos and satin shirt. All stereotypes that are warmly embraced and portrayed well.

There were a few technical issues, which I’m sure will be ironed out within a few shows, and sometimes it was hard to hear the cast due to some in the audience experiencing their own story and other cast members running up and down steps. The show also came to a very abrupt ending. All these things will be fixed and this will be worthy of 5 stars.

Buy, beg or steal a ticket for this show, you’ll regret it if you don’t! Go and be a Montague (or a Capulet) and embrace this talented cast as they do their magic.

Review by Faye Stockley

Star-crossed lovers, rival families, you know the story – but would you change it if you could? This immersive theatre production is a unique adaption of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, set in a warehouse squat during the 1990’s…when rave culture was MASSIVE.

For never was there a story of more woe, but this time the audience decides where this story goes, with the choices they make and the actions they take changing the fate of Juliet and Her Romeo. Your family welcomes you into competing sides as either a Montague or Capulet as you become a character in their story. These violent delights have violent ends, but will you bite your thumb?

Cast: Fiona Hardy – Juliet Vicky Gaskin – Lady Montagues Peter Dewhurst – Tybalt Fergus Leatham – Paris Joeseph Tremain – Benvolio Ieuan Coombs – Romeo Jack Harding – Lord Capulet James Unsworth – Lord Montague Ben Hudson – Mercutio Daniel Swain – Friar Laurence Jurell Carter – Prince

Director: Bertie Watkins Performance Directors: Peter Dewhurst and Ben Hudson Creative Producer: Sarah Morris Sound Design: Ben Hudson Fight Coordinator: James Unsworth

Running Time: approximately 2 hours plus access to exclusive themed bar after performance Various Dates: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings 24th of March to 27rd of April 2017 Times: 7:00pm – 9.00pm and 9.00pm – 11.00pm

Access to exclusive themed ‘in-world’ bar after the performance Location: Nearest Stations London Bridge or Borough Station CoLab Theatre 84 Long Lane, London, SE1 4AU http://ift.tt/1zpGRbo Age: Recommended for age 18+ Younger audiences of 14+ may attend with a parent or guardian at their own discretion. Contains strong language, references to sex, violence, and drugs.

http://ift.tt/2n69SIc LondonTheatre1.com

[crazyw3irdo]

as someone whos got a romeo and juliet adaptation/sequel on the backburner, i have a question for you: What is your favorite part of this play? It can be themes, a scene, or a character or whatever else! Personally my favorite thing in it, at the risk of sounding cliche, are the themes of destiny and doom. I also like benvolio (totally didnt get him in ur quiz lol)

oooh!! well i mean the obvious answer for me is equally obvious i think lol

i fuckin love mercutio. so much so that even if im watching a version of r&j i don’t care for i’ll stick around at least until he dies lol

he really just cements the tragedy of it all to me. if the story were a romance he’d just be the silly best friend comic relief character, and, aside from the opening narration and a couple fights, r&j really can seem like a romance… up until mercutio dies. his death is a signifier of the tonal shift. the happy-go-lucky guy who brings romeo to a party and cracks jokes just died. you want comic relief? he’s dead.

and of course there’s the fact that he shouldn’t even be involved. he’s not a capulet or a montague. he’s related to the prince. not a part of the families. he’s a casualty. he was a friend to romeo and benvolio- two montagues- and he was invited to the capulet party! he’s how they got in! he had no enemies- he shouldn’t’ve died! hell, had romeo not come between him and tybalt, he might have lived. then romeo wouldn’t’ve killed tybalt, he wouldn’t’ve been banished, juliet wouldn’t’ve had to fake her death leading to well… everyone knows that part.

he only got into the fight to defend his friend’s honor. (well, to be fair depending on how you read the dialogue before the fight, mercutio might be pretty ready to jump into a fight for any reason lol) but still, he got into that fight because tybalt wanted to fight romeo, and he only died because romeo intervened.

what really gets me too is… no one seems to mourn him. sure, yes, romeo kills tybalt in revenge, but then immediately tybalt’s death takes priority. everyone’s freaking out about how tybalt died- tybalt is mourned. i don’t recall if mercutio is ever mentioned again. (edit: mercutio is mentioned when paris dies, romeo calls him mercutio’s kinsman, but that’s. still not much)

there’s also his iconic quote as he’s dying- a plague on both your houses. as he dies he goes out screaming about how both families are at fault, how it’s their own stubbornness that is causing all this. and if anyone listened to him, maybe things would’ve been different. but still, romeo and juliet (…and paris i guess?) have to die before anyone actually listens.

also, on a more lighthearted note, he is fucking hilarious. his whole queen mab monologue to make fun of romeo is a personal highlight, as well as his line like… quoting from memory here, “here comes romeo, without his ‘ro’ like a dried fish.” okay okay so this is when they still think romeo is into rosaline, hence the “ro” but also “roe” like fish eggs, but also meo is a word for “sigh” so he’s sad because he doesn’t have his crush with him all told with a fish pun. love this guy i aspire to be on his level

ooh, also, when a staged production (or other kind? it’s most common staged) uses red for the capulets and blue for the montagues, i love when mercutio wears purple. goes back to my earlier point about him not being either but still being friendly with both.

also speaking about very specific productions of romeo and juliet some mercutio highlights:

-in rómeó és júlia (personal fav version of mercutio) when mercutio gets stabbed, he bleeds, gets his hand covered in blood, and slaps romeo before he dies, so romeo goes through the rest of that scene wearing his friends blood and it really adds to it

-also in that version they give mercutio a rap verse that is in no other version and i think of it constantly

-he also keeps flirting with everyone and kisses both romeo and benvolio and tries to with tybalt

-i made a compilation of him in that version i never posted actually i should see if i can find it

-in the italian version of romeo et juliette mercutio kisses romeo as he dies and it’s really intense lmao

-okay actually just watch this video comparing different versions of le duel from romeo et juliette i’ll stop talking about those versions specifically lmao (and watch les rois du monde & la mort de mercutio on the same channel)

-in romeo + juliet he wears heelys and when he says “by my heel i care not” you can see them lmao

-in that version he also dresses in drag and i love it

-riff from west side story is not technically mercutio but he sings the jet song & cool and i love those songs so hell yeah

-okay i said i wouldn’t talk about versions of retj again but going back to my beloved hungarian version rómeó és júlia the guy who plays mercutio also voices the onceler in the hungarian version of the lorax and if i have to know that so do you

anyway i genuinely plan for my last words to be “ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man” so yeah love that guy and personally think this could have all been avoided had he started dating romeo and benvolio and hell why not have a toxic fling with tybalt what who said that