Yesterday night I watched a local production of Romeo & Juliet with a friend. It was very different from what I had expected. Somehow I expected more of a realistic set. Probably because I watched The Crucible last year, which was staged by the same theatre company and they chose to go with a realistic design. Anyhow, the entire cast was clad in white, most of the set was white too. Even with wardrobe changes among the characters, they still wore white clothes, except for Romeo and Juliet. Well, for the most part, they too wore white but Juliet wore red at the Capulet’s feast. In preparation for her wedding with Paris, Juliet wore black. Romeo too wore black when he went to Juliet’s grave.
For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed the acting. The script had not been altered or modernized, so the the original Shakespearean text was preserved. However, there were a few modern elements that were injected into the play. As much as I appreciated the minimalist design, I didn’t think much of the modern elements because they did not fit. For example, photographers and cameras. Taking photos of people at the feast just didn’t fit. Then there was the nurse. The actress portrayed her brilliantly and the comic relief she brought to the stage was marvellous. I loved her facial expressions. Still, on some occasions I felt annoyed because the actions she engaged in didn’t seem fitting at all. I don’t know. The first time she was seen on stage, she was engaging in tai-chi movements. That was just plain weird. The musical accompaniment was too electronic for my taste too.
Still, it was a good evening. My friend and I took theatre studies together, so we ended up discussing and dissecting the play like the good former students of theatre that we were. Even better, we received a free upgrade on our tickets! We had booked the seats in the gallery but ended up sitting in the stalls, which was pretty neat, seeing how we saved a fair bit on our tickets that way.
REVIEWS
- [19 Feb] My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick ★★★★½
- [22 Feb] The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt ★★★
BLOG POSTS
- [19 Feb] My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick ★★★★½
- [20 Feb] Do blurbs still matter?
- [22 Feb] The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt ★★★
- [23 Feb] Retrospect #8: February 23rd
AUDIOBOOKS
- Ana @ Read Me Away talks about her audiobook habits.
BLOGGING & BLOGGERS
- Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity is adamant that she only use GIFs she knows. That is, she’ll only use GIFs where she is familiar with the show it’s from or the people in them. She would feel like a fraud if she were to use unfamiliar GIFs.
BOOK CLUBS
- Hazel @ Stay Bookish wants to know what you think about book clubs. Maybe you are participating in or have participated in a book club before and have some advice for her?
BOOKS
- Mime @ The Notebook Sisters considers why readers get addicted to series.
- Hannah @ So Obsessed With breaks down the links between loving books and reading them versus buying them. She rightly points out that Loving Books = Reading Books and not Loving Books = Acquiring Books. Think about this next time you’re tempted to buy a tower of books.
- Helen @ My Novel Opinion asks herself, Do I really want to read that? when culling her TBR list.
- Charlotte @ Gypsy Reads rages about the incorrect uses of languages in books, also tying in the misrepresentation of cultures. And oh let me count the ways in which these things irk me too! Seriously, research is mandatory when writing a book.
RATING & REVIEWING
- Kelsey @ Verbosity Book Reviews sums up her book ratings in GIFs.
READING
- Lindsey @ The Day Dreaming, Candy Eating, Red Haired Bookworm talks about times that book reviews that break her heart. You know the kind. Those one-star reviews of books you absolutely loved.
But in falling, we fly, don’t we? We fly vertically.
When was the last time you watched a play at a theatre? Do you enjoy drama on stage or are you not into it at all?
[…] me? Just take a look at a weekly retrospect or Around the Blogosphere thing. Some can be found at: Dudette Reads, Tea Between Books, Books for Birds, and many other blogs. With any close observation of any of […]