D R A M A

William Shakespeare

OMCO and

Retold by Victoria Heward

Langenscheidt

K ?fu English Language Teaching

R
William Shakespeare

omeo and
Retold by Victoria Heward
 Editors: Claudia Fiocco, Rebecca Raynes
Design and Art Direction: Nadia Maestri
Computer graphic realisation: Simona Corniola
Illustrations: Fabio Visintin

© 2002 Black Cat Publishing

an imprint of Cideb Editrice,
Genoa, Canterbury

First edition: May 2002

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ISBN 88-7754-723-5 Book

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Printed in Italy by Litoprint, Genoa

 T$
Rom eo and Juliet
Shakespeare
Introduction to Drama
C ast list

ACTS
A C T Li 11 A C T Ill.iii 76
A C T I.ii 22 A C T Ill.iv 82
A C T I.iii 25 A C T III.v 83
A C T I.iv 30 ACT IV.i 91
A C T II.i 43 ACT IV .ii 98
A C T II.ii 48 ACT IV .iii 99
A C T Il.iii 51 ACT IV.iv 100
ACT II.iv 57 A C T V.i 103
ACT II.v 62 A C T V .ii 105
ACT Ill.i 67 A C T V .iii 107
ACT Ill.ii 74
ACTING 10, 55, 80
SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLISH 39, 90

THE CO M PANY 8
PUTTING ON THE SH O W 19, 40, 46, 72, 97, 122
COSTUMES 42, 45

GLOSSARY OF DRAMATIC TERMS 127

GLOSSARY 128

Dossiers:
T h e R enaissance man: W illiam Shakespeare
and G alileo G alilei 65
Saint Francis and the Franciscan Friars 95

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT 39, 64, 87, 102, 120

LANGUAGE PLAY 42, 61
W HAT DO YOU THINK? 29, 75

Stage directions
(not recorded).

Shakespeare's original words or words very

sim ilar to those he used.

This symbol indicates the beginning of a recording and track number.

 Romeo ani Juliet
<0> In Verona there are two fam ilies who hate each other: the Capulet
family and the Montague family. Their fathers hated each other
and their grandfathers hated each other. Nobody can remember
why. When Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague meet and fall in
love the result is violence and death.
The two families really existed and you can still see Juliet's house
and tomb in Verona today.

Shakespeare 1564-1616
Shakespeare was born and died on 23rd April in Stratford-upon-Avon.
He got married when he was eighteen and had three children.
When he was twenty-two he went
to London to work as an actor. He
published his first play when he
was thirty and became England's
most famous writer. He wrote and
acted for Queen Elizabeth I and
King James I.
Shakespeare wrote Romeo and
Juliet around 1595. He didn't
invent the story but he wrote the
most popular version. Many
stories from Shakespeare
originally come from Italy.
Now, after four hundred years,
people still love to go to the
theatre to see his plays.
 introduction to Drama
In this book you will read the story of Romeo and Juliet, two of
Shakespeare's most famous lovers. Romeo and Juliet is not only a
story, but a play to be acted in the theatre. When you read the
script try to imagine real people speaking and moving. Think of
their voices, their movements and their feelings.
There are lots of actors, some of them are very important and they
must say a lot, but there are also parts for people who don't have a
lot to say, like the servants.

Cast List
Names of the actors, in order of appearance

Sampson, C a p u let’s servant

Gregory, C a p u let’s servant

2Servants o f the M ontague fa m ily

Benvolio, a M ontague

Tybalt, a C apulet

Lord Montague

Lady Montague
 Lord Capulet

Lady Capulet

Prince Escalus, Prince of Verona

Romeo Montague

Paris, a young noblem an of Verona

Nurse, nurse to Juliet

J l
Juliet Capulet
d m

M ercutio, R o m eo ’s friend

M usicians

Friar Laurence

Balthasar, R o m eo ’s servant

Friar John

Servant to Paris
 The Company
In the theatre there are a lot of different jobs to do.
 There are a lot of special theatrical words used in this book.
W hen you see a word in bold letters go to the Glossary of Dram atic
Term s on page 1 2 7 to find the meaning.
ACTING

In this book there are a lot of ideas to help you become a great actor.
Here is a simple exercise to help you sta rt.
Remember to try your best, forget about being shy and ... HAVE FUN!

m m m

1 In a group of three or four take turns miming these situations:

a. Think of an old lady or old man walking. Try to walk in the same way.
b. Now think of a child of five or six years old. Try to walk in the
same way.
c. Now imagine an astronaut walking on the moon. Try to walk in the
same way.
d. W atch the other people in your class. Who was the most realistic? Why?

2 In groups of three or four try miming these ‘walking’ situations.

a. A VIP or film s ta r is followed by journalists, cam eras and fans.

b. Some teenage b o y s /g irls are in the town centre looking at the shop
windows and the teenage bo ys/g irls!
c. A person has a broken leg and trie s to walk. H is /h e r friends help.
d. Some crim inals are trying to move quietly around an old building.
Some special agents are trying to follow them .

3 W hat happens next?

a. In your group choose one of the situations above and continue the
story. Decide what happens next. This tim e you can mime and speak
in English, but don’t fo rg e t your movements, your face and your
gestures.
b. Practise fo r 5 m inutes together and then show the other people in
your class.
c. W hich story did you like best? Why?

10
 ACT I m m

Scene i - In asquare in Verona

The Capulet family and the Montague family are
great enemies. Two servants of the Capulet family are NOW, GREGORY,

working when two servants of the Montague family ( y o u k n o w l o r d c a p u l e t w il l be

VERY ANGRY IF EVERYTHING
__________________ IS NOT CLEAN.
the two families arrive and the fighting
is stopped by the Prince of Verona
who is very angry. J

i.

JI
- J
A m