How do you go about cutting Shakespeare? An unenviable task but necessary for this tour nonetheless. Shakespeare is, arguably, the greatest playwright ever to put quill to parchment but I don’t hold with the assumption that his text is sacred. We don’t have to perform the first folio edition of Hamlet to appreciate the profundity and magnificence of the play. The same holds true for Romeo and Juliet.
When starting to edit the text I was more than aware that I had a huge job on my hands. Performing in schools as well as small-scale venues meant that the length had to be reduced in order to fit into the time-table. But also to try and dispel the notion that Shakespeare is boring. I have tried to keep the pace fast, make it sexy, and keep all the quotable lines. Hence, the reason why I haven’t cut the famous balcony scene!
The most difficult aspect of cutting Shakespeare is maintaining the sense of natural rhythm, in this play usisally ‘iambic pentameter’ (10 syllables per line). .”
If the pattern changes in a speech it usually means that the character is deeply upset or angry. In such cases, he uses a mixture of 9,10 and 11 syllable lines to demonstrate the gravity of his or her situation. For example, when Juliet finds out Tybalt has been killed by Romeo she reacts with unsurprising horror:
“O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face! (11)
Beautiful tyrant! Fiend angelical! (10)
Was ever book containing such vile matter (11)
So fairly bound? O, that deceit should dwell (10)
In such a gorgeous palace.”
The most important thing to remember when adapting Shakespeare is don’t
be scared by unnecessary reverence. Baz Lehrman’s Romeo and Juliet was
cut to suit the needs of the film, in some cases he even changed the scene
order. This only served to enhance his vision of the play, not detract from
it. I hope to have achieved the same result with our production.
