Romeo and Juliet- A rewrite!

Working with the people in the groups listed below, you will select your favorite scene from the play so far. Your task is to re-contextualize this scene and then rewrite this part of the script as you have reimagined it!

Just like Baz Luhrmann has “reinvented” Romeo and Juliet, you will do the same in your groups. However, unlike Baz, you will not use the original script. You will need to re-write your script to best fit the new context that you give it. In doing this, you should consider:

• Physical setting: What decade are you bringing Romeo and Juliet into? Maybe you want to write it for the here and now, perhaps you want to give them a spin through the 80s. One of the best places to begin is by establishing the time period that your scene will take place in. Next, you should think about the place that your characters will interact in. This should be connected to your time period. Be realistic- would something like this unfold in a high school in the here and now? If Romeo and Juliet were in the 80s, would they be going to a masquerade ball?
• Character ages and names, costumes and actions: these need to link directly to the decisions you make above. Maybe you want to keep the marriage thing going in your rewrite, therefore you need to think about what age people would get married in your time period. What clothes would they have worn? Would they have had names like Mercutio and Romeo? Perhaps they are from a country where these names would be uncommon and so you will need to alter them. Are they really going to walk around carrying swords?
• Language: as we know, Shakespeare loves his metaphors, rhymes and symbolic references. If he makes the effort to think of these things, we should too! Consider how you can re-create the language devices he uses and make them fit your new context.

Find your group below:

Posted by Renee Plunkett

Teacher of English at Mount Aspiring College, Wanaka, New Zealand.

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