The measure of an unmade grave

The Verona project, part X

Who (how old), when, how long? Clive Francis (18) and Angela Scoular (19), 1965, 1¾hr.

What sort of R&J? A Romeo who is under the impression that he is playing Hamlet; a Juliet who is better than the production.

Seriocomic scale for first scene? In this version the scene begins after the comic lines; some blood is shed, but no fatalities.

"Wherefore": do the playmakers know what it means? Yes, though the sequence is delivered with odd cheer, almost giddiness, as if Juliet doesn't really think the Montague issue is that big a deal.

Carrion flies? No.

Body count? The full six.

What (else) is missing? This isn't an interesting production, but it is the one so far for which it would perhaps be most interesting to track line by line what is cut, what included. Since the runtime is but an hour and three-quarters, lots and lots is cut, of course, much with an axe rather than a scalpel, but then unusual things survive, such as the Nurse's repetition of her husband's declaration that Juliet, once she has grown herself some ballast, will fall on her back rather than on her face. Also, the scene in which Capulet reproaches his marriage-resistant daughter plays out at length--but the one before that, where she bandies with her mother over the "revenge" against Tybalt's murderer, is truncated--and the Nurse is excised from the scene altogether. Gone also is the scene in which Romeo tells Nurse of the wedding plans, but only after he and his friends taunt her--and then Nurse doesn't tease Juliet before giving her the news. And on and on: the Mercutio-Tybalt duel scene begins with Benvolio's "By my head, here come the Capulets," and that seems to reflect the general practice: cut the comic exchanges that don't directly advance the plot. Which strategy, of course, drains much of the life from the play, and encourages the melancholy-Veronan stance of R.

What (else) is changed? Not much changed, apart from truncations: the scene in which Romeo buys his fatal poison, e.g., ends with his first line to the apothecary. Oh, here's something interesting: III.iv, wherein Capulet promises Juliet to Paris, takes place at Tybalt's bier rather than chez Capulet.

What (else) is odd? Much, but the oddest, to me, is that the Romeo-Juliet morning-after-the-wedding-night scene takes place in vertical posture: they're standing on the balcony, never in bed. In fact, everything that suggests that sex will take place or has taken place ("Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds . . . And bring in cloudy night immediately") is missing (as is the Juliet-Nurse interview that follows those lines). Also a little odd: Romeo, after dying with a kiss, falls on Juliet's right boob--but when she wakes, she doesn't notice the weight.

End-of-the-play exposition? No, but the excision is awkward, since the Prince reads Romeo's letter and confirms that it "doth make good the friar's words," which the Friar hasn't actually spoken.

It's a pretty poor production, take it all around--I might in fact judge it even worse had I seen a version this weekend that didn't suck altogether.