QSE presents Romeo & Juliet

QSE presents Romeo & Juliet

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Posted 2021-08-09 by Roy Chambersfollow

Thu 26 Aug 2021 - Sun 05 Sep 2021

The always popular Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble is back performing Shakespeare in the park in 2022. This year, they are performing Romeo & Juliet , Shakespeare's much-loved tale of lovers caught between violence.



The play

Being one of Shakespeare's most popular plays, you know the plot. The Montagues and Capulets hate each other to the point they are brawling in the streets of fair Verona. But Romeo and Juliet love each other, even though they are from families who are supposed to hate each other. The result is love, intrigue, sword fights and tragedy. "For there never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."



In many ways, this play highlights many of Shakespeare's strengths. While it is a romance, it features the bard's trademark propensity for tragedy. As the play features brawling teens, there is a lot of rowdy talk and bawdy humour, and of course, fights that both establish and drive the plot.

The production

The Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble's Shakespeare in the Park productions are held at the Amphitheatre in Roma Street Parkland. The audience sits on the stage with the actors, creating an intimate performance that puts you among the action. At the same time, they have the backdrop of the park and more space for certain scenes.



The cast includes the experienced staff from the ensemble and many talented students, with the often large cast required for a Shakespearean play being made up of ensemble members. In addition, the ensemble has a band that plays before the play, during the break, and at appropriate moments during the play. This helps makes the productions very lively.



For Romeo and Juliet, both Romeo and Juliet will be played by women, Liliana Macarone and Sarah Doyle. I understand that they thought through this extensively, trying to decide whether to change Romeo to a woman and deal with those issues, but in the end, it really came down to the fact that the ensemble has many great female performers and Shakespeare doesn't really have enough female characters for this talent, so in often in Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble productions, many of the male roles are played by women. But also think how feminising Romeo can be used in contrast to the hypermasculinity of the other characters in the play.

Hidden meanings in the language of Romeo & Juliet

Shakespearean language can at times make it hard to follow. For this reason, I would recommend always reading up a little before attending any of the bard's plays. With Romeo and Juliet, you already know the plot and most of the language is pretty straightforward. But here are hidden meanings worth knowing beforehand. Younger readers should skip ahead as Shakespeare loved himself some double entendres.

The play links love, sex and violence with lines like "I will push Montague's men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall" let us know pretty clearly what Sampson's intentions are. And there are plenty of other similar lines from the same character.

In fact, everyone manages to get in the dirty jokes in the play. Juliet's nurse says "Now, by my maidenhead at twelve year old, / I bade her come." which implies that she lost her virginity at the age of 12 or 13. Being a worldly character she tells Juliet ""Dost thou fall upon thy face? Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit, wilt thou not, Jule?" In other words, she is telling Juliet that when she is older and knows more, she will not be embarrassed by sex and need to hide her face by falling forward, but welcome it by falling backwards.

Juliet too thinks and talks a lot about sex as well. When Juliet says "Come, gentle night, come, loving black-browed night, Give me my Romeo, and when I shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars" she is first of all using the Elizabethan slang "die" for orgasm, and the whole thing about little stars implies how she expects this to make her feel.

I should point out that I have left out the dirtiest jokes as well as some language that could be argued as innocent but others argue is in fact dirty. But you get the idea that the point of Romeo and Juliet is that it is a world of violence and sex in which two star crossed lovers try to find love, and it is not just fate, but the world and the attitudes of that world that doom them.



Getting there

With the location being at Roma Street Parklands, there is usually plenty of parking at night but less during the day, but there is still enough that you should be able to find a place to park. Ideally, try and find a parking spot on Wickham Terrace so you will be near the Amphitheatre. There are also plenty of buses and trains to Roma Street Station and it is a short walk to the Amphitheatre.

Before the play

There aren't that many restaurants near Roma Street Parklands, but there are options such as the Gazebo Bar & Kitchen or Farah Restaurant, as well as the lovely Frescos Restaurant. If you are going to see a daytime performance, the Garden Room Cafe in the park itself is a good option. Otherwise, I would recommend taking a picnic or barbecue to enjoy in the park before the play starts. Alcohol is permitted in certain areas of the park, so you can enjoy a glass of wine with your picnic.



COVID-19

Yes, you are outside, so short of another lockdown, the play is likely to go ahead. Though you might need to wear a mask and of course, you should always carry a mask with you.

Overall

The Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble's productions are very popular and that popularity is only increasing as people come back each year. So don't be fortune's fool and get your tickets early, and pack a picnic dinner or lunch.

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!date 26/08/2021 -- 05/09/2021
%wnbrisbane
211241 - 2023-06-16 06:34:54

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