Romeo and Juliet (Modern English)
adapted by Craig Mason from Shakespeare
A modern English one act version of Shakespeare's tragic tale of star-crossed lovers.
About 40 minutes
Times given are approximate and do not include intermissions/scene changes/breaks
12
7 M | 2 W | 3 Any Gender, Easily Expandable
Interior and Exterior
28 pages
Allow your students to get a grasp of the story before they have to tackle the Elizabethan language.
Does your drama club perform for grade school or family audiences? Try this retelling of Romeo and Juliet. The son and daughter of rivals fall in love, causing the age-old grudge between the families to resurface. It is a universal story, and Shakespeare's best-known work.
Our version gives an overview of the story and offers a lively introduction to the play.
Characters
12
7 Men, 2 Women, 3 Any Gender, Easily Expandable
Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.
The Montagues
-
Romeo
[M]
71 lines
-
Benvolio
[M]
31 lines
-
Mercutio
[M]
26 lines
Others
-
Narrator
[A]
24 lines
- One Monologue
-
Friar Laurence
[M]
1 line
- One Monologue
-
The Prince of Verona
[M]
4 lines
- Two Monologues
-
Mantua Newsie
[A]
15 lines
The Capulets
-
Capulet
[M]
30 lines
- One Monologue
-
Juliet
[W]
44 lines
-
Nurse
[W]
23 lines
-
Tybalt
[M]
9 lines
- One Monologue
-
Messenger
[M]
52 lines
- Subgenres
- Adaptation Shakespeare Theatre for young audiences
- Settings
- 16th Century / Elizabethan
- Dress
- Period costumes
- Audience
- All audiences Children Pre-teen Teen
- Features
- Tableau Dance Stage combat
- Set
- Simple set
- Cautions
- Onstage murder
- Themes
- Death Love Parenting/Family Relationships Obedience Suicide Revenge
- Cross-Curricular Uses
- Shakespeare
- Other uses
- Class work Scene work
Prop List
List, Swords, Vial of poison, Dagger
Related Titles
Purchase Orders accepted from US and Canadian Schools.
Info for your purchasing department.
All others must pay at the time of ordering.
Not sure what you need to order? Check out our pricing and ordering guide.
Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.
Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.
Romeo and Juliet (Modern English)
adapted by Craig Mason from Shakespeare
About 40 minutes
Times given are approximate and do not include intermissions/scene changes/breaks
12
7 M | 2 W | 3 Any Gender, Easily Expandable
Interior and Exterior
28 pages