The history of Romeo and Juliet begins centuries before Shakespeare ever picked up a pen and has lasted centuries after his death. It has been translated, adapted, satirized, and reinvented across cultures, across history. During Antiquity the forbidden lovers were Pyramus and Thisbe in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, during the Italian Renaissance they were Giulietta and Romeo in Luigi da Porto’s Giulietta e Romeo, and in the modern day they are Tony and Maria in West Side Story. Romeo and Juliet is, in a word, timeless.
Reflecting the timelessness and themes of Romeo and Juliet, this production does not confine itself to the historical accuracy to any one time period but pulls elements from different times in history to be thematically accurate to the play. Through Renaissance Italian architecture and customs this production can embody the time period this play was written in. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is most directly influenced by a poem titled The Tragical History of Romeo and Juliet which is a translation of a novella written during the Italian Renaissance. Our use of Regency Era fashion invokes romantic themes because of the time period’s ties to influential love stories like Pride and Prejudice. Through costuming, this production is able to celebrate the romance at the heart of the play’s story.
Even though Renaissance Italy and Regency England are separated by about three centuries and 1200 miles, they share similarities in inspiration and ideology. Both periods were inspired by Greece and Rome. Greco-Roman architecture was studied by Renaissance architects and Regency fashion sought to reproduce fashion from those classical civilizations. Furthermore, they both celebrated humanity. The humanist movement in Italy celebrated human achievement and Regency fashion was designed to celebrate the beauty of the natural (nude) body. Finally, both Regency garments and Renaissance architecture were created to showcase clean geometry.
Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare’s most well known play. It is embedded into our culture, sure, but also cultures of the past. It is a piece of art that is timeless in both themes and message. What this production strives to achieve is to honor that legacy; how this story has impacted the past and will, if we continue to tell it, impact the future too.
