Actors on Characters

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The actors from the Globe’s touring production of Romeo and Juliet give their opinion about their character’s journey through the play.

Richard Madden on Romeo

When the play begins Romeo is indulging himself in a false love with Rosaline. He is consumed with hope and despair. His friends persuade him to gatecrash the Capulet’s party where he meets Juliet and truly falls in love. He is excited: he needs to know more, to find out if Juliet loves him and to work out if he loves her. He feels taller, his eyes open wider. He questions the world and observes how different it looks now that he is in love. Romeo marries Juliet in secret. Things seem to be perfect until Mercutio is killed by Tybalt. Romeo becomes enraged and filled with guilt and despair. Romeo murders Tybalt. Once Tybalt is dead Romeo is banished. He’s physically broken by the punishment. Romeo is scared, agitated and angry at himself for the trouble he’s caused. He is angry that he has to leave his home and wife. He’s reassured by the Friar’s plan to send him to Mantua. He spends one night with Juliet. Everything starts looking up. Romeo goes to Mantua, but then he hears that Juliet is dead. His life goal then becomes to kill himself so that he can have his everlasting rest with Juliet. He becomes very focussed and determined on the journey back to Verona. When he sees Juliet in the tomb, the whole world in on his shoulders and seeping through him. He kills himself.

Ellie Piercy on Juliet

Juliet is the daughter of the rich Capulet family. She is hidden away from life and looked after by the Nurse. Suddenly she finds she is going to be married off to Paris. But, then she meets Romeo at the party. She is bowled over by the audacity of Romeo. Romeo speaks to her and loves her, he offers her possibilities of being someone that she never imagined she could be and feel things that she never imagined she could feel. Her objective is to work out how she can be with Romeo and away from all of the established things she has known as a Capulet. She marries Romeo in secret. Meanwhile, outside in the world, Romeo gets caught in a fight and is banished. Romeo being banished, before they have even consummated their love, is deathly news. Juliet despairs, she is isolated and death is the only choice remaining which she has control over. She comes up with a plan to take the Friar’s potion and fake her death so that she can meet Romeo again and they can create a new life together. When Juliet wakes up in the tomb and finds Romeo dead, death is an easy choice. Nothing else in her world matters.

Paul Woodson on Paris

Paris is a friend of the Prince and is betrothed to Juliet. Juliet’s parents, the Capulets, are determined for the marriage to happen, because of Paris’ social status. Paris is often though of as a villain, but the text suggests that he has actually fallen for Juliet. He loves her dearly and is completely in the dark about Romeo. On the morning of the intended wedding, Paris discovers Juliet apparently dead and he goes into a state of mourning. He goes to Juliet’s grave to spread flowers and pay his respects, which he says that he will do every night, as his grief is so great. At the grave, he encounters Romeo who has returned to Verona after being banished. Paris thinks he has caught Romeo in a villainous act, and he tries to apprehend him, which leads to his death.

Tas Emiabata on Capulet

Capulet is a man who is driven by business. The Capulets need an heir. Capulet’s objective throughout the play is to find the best suitor for his daughter Juliet. He believes he has found this in Paris. He goes into a rage when Juliet refuses to marry Paris. Capulet threatens to disown Juliet if she doesn’t obey him. It takes the death of Juliet to make him realise that his actions have caused her to take her life.

Julian Stolzenberg on Montague

Montague, Romeo’s father, is told by the prince that if there is any more fighting (with the Capulets): ‘Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.’ (1.1.90) Montague would like to end the feud, but it seems out of his control. Montague is upset with Romeo who is wandering around in a state of melancholy and won’t talk to anyone. We next see Montague after Tybalt’s death when he’s told by the Prince that Romeo will be banished. He’s lost his son, who, although not dead, is never allowed to return to Verona. The third and last time we see Montague is at the end of the play when Romeo and Juliet are dead. Montague and Capulet join hands and come together, saying that they will erect statues of pure gold in honour of each of the other’s children.

Tyne Rafaeli on Lady Capulet

Lady Capulet, Juliet’s mother, wants Juliet to marry the County Paris. The Capulets throw a party so that Juliet can get to know Paris. Lady Capulet is devastated when Tybalt is killed. She pleads with the Prince to punish Romeo with death. She becomes more determined to marry Juliet to Paris. Ordered by her husband, Lady Capulet goes to Juliet, who is grieving both for Tybalt and Romeo, and aggressively tries to get her to stop grieving and focus on marrying Paris. Juliet refuses. When Lord Capulet gets angry with Juliet, Lady Capulet doesn’t intervene. Juliet pleads for her mother’s help, but Lady Capulet takes her husband’s side. Later Juliet comes and begs forgiveness for being disobedient, saying she will marry Paris. However, the next morning Lady Capulet goes to wake Juliet to ready her for her wedding day and finds her dead. At the end of the play the Capulets are confronted with the consequences of their behaviour when they come to the tomb and discover that Juliet had eloped with Romeo and taken her life.

Mark Springer on Mercutio

Mercutio’s friendship with Romeo is troubled. Romeo has been pining for Rosaline, and this has had a detrimental effect on their friendship. When we first see them together, they’re on their way to the Capulet’s party. Mercutio doesn’t know about Juliet, he believes that Romeo is in love with Rosaline. Mercutio becomes angry with Romeo, feeling increasingly rejected. Verona is a dangerous place and Mercutio provokes Tybalt, into a fight. Romeo tries to stop the fight but Mercutio is killed by Tybalt.

Julian Stolzenberg on Tybalt

Tybalt is an angry, aggressive young man and a famous sword-fighter. At the beginning of the play, he challenges Benvolio and the Montagues to a fight. He hates peace and he hates the Montagues. He becomes increasingly volatile through-out the play. At the Capulet party Tybalt overhears Romeo and, outraged that he has gatecrashed the party, sends a letter to Romeo’s house challenging him to a duel. When next Tybalt encounters Romeo, not knowing Romeo has married Juliet, he wants to fight him, but Romeo refuses. Tybalt and Mercutio fight whilst Romeo tries to break it up. Romeo gets in the way, and Tybalt uses the opportunity to kill Mercutio; he stabs him under Romeo’s arm and runs away. Mercutio dies and Romeo seeks Tybalt out, they fight and Tybalt is killed.

Paul Woodson on Benvolio

Benvolio is Romeo’s cousin and acts like Romeo’s security guard. He has a great amount of heroic dignity. He is constantly aware of the threat of trouble and is the one person trying to keep a lid on it. His first line, “I do but keep the peace” (1.1.61), sums up his journey through the play. He attempts to keep the warring factions apart. Unfortunately despite his best efforts Romeo is banished and his best friend Mercutio is killed.

Eliot Shrimpton on The Nurse

The Nurse has mixed emotions. Juliet has been betrothed to Paris, which may mean the end of her nursing duties, but she feels that Juliet is becoming a woman. It becomes complicated when Juliet meets Romeo. The Nurse helps Juliet facilitate the relationship with Romeo. At first this is an exciting and daring experience. However, it goes wrong and the Nurse realises that if the Capulets found out that she’d encouraged Juliet’s relationship with Romeo she’d be thrown out of the house. She then encourages Juliet to choose the arranged marriage with Paris, ultimately betraying Juliet.

Eliot Shrimpton on Friar Lawrence

The Friar is Romeo’s advisor and spiritual guide. The Friar sees Romeo and Juliet’s relationship as an opportunity to heal the divisions between the Montague and Capulet households. Through their marriage he hopes to bring peace and harmony to Verona. When things go very wrong, the Friar attempts to resolve issues by encouraging Romeo to flee to Mantua, and indeed by encouraging Juliet, in her desperation, to take this magic potion which makes her appear to have died when actually she’s only asleep. This is a desperate act. The plan goes wrong. The messages do not get passed to Romeo. Romeo thinks that Juliet has died, and when the Friar arrives to bring Juliet out of the tomb, she refuses to go and the Friar loses his nerve and abandons her.

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