Just R&J

Produced by LA Shakespeare

Experienced in Los Angeles ~ 2023

By Eve Weston

The Experience & How it Works:

You arrive in a parking lot in Los Angeles, meet an usher at the bottom of a 3-story fire escape stair case and, when the time is right, he sends you up. You walk across the roof into a former nightclub and head over to the (cash) bar where the bartender offers you a drink and lets you know that the show will begin shortly.

When it’s nearly time for the show to start, the bartender gets everyone’s attention, introduces the two actors that will play Romeo and Juliet, and invites the audience to express their preference for who shall play whom. (Both actors are male, as in Shakespeare’s day.)

After the audience has decided, the actors retreat to get into “costume” (a skirt for whomever will play Juliet) and then return to begin the show. The audience is told that they will need to stay when they’re told to stay, move when they’re told to move, sit when they’re told to sit, etc. These instructions will come from the bartender, who is also the director and who plays all of the few essential roles that are essential even when Romeo & Juliet is cut down to “only the scenes between Romeo & Juliet.”

Why it’s Interesting, IMHO:

The show description says it well:

2 men.
40 minutes. Candlelight.
Characters chosen before the show begins.
Only the scenes between Romeo and Juliet.

Initial Impression & Critical Discussion:

The show has succeeded in what it set out to do. The actors are talented, giving emotionally truthful performances, and the role-switching hook makes me want to come back and each of the characters performed by the other lead.

The show brings the audience into the story world and, therefore, is absolutely immersive. That being said, “immersive” is used widely these days to mean a wide range of things and attendees opinions on its immersivity may very depending on individual expectations. Hopefully, this post helps set expectations that will be met.

In a riveting post-show discussion with the director, we discussed whether this show is “site-specific” rather than “immersive” and decided that it is not. The show, while suited to the space, is not tied to the space in a meaningful way.

HOT TIPS:

• Be Bookish. Just before the show begins, the bartender/director informs the audience that the play will not tell the whole story of Romeo & Juliet and that the audience should be familiar with the play. Specifically, he states that there are other characters (e.g., Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris) and, if you want to know who they are, you have a couple minutes ask your fellow theatregoers. So, if you’re inclined to be knowledgeable, feel encouraged to do some Googling, skim the Cliff’s Notes or re-read the play.
• Be Ambulatory. The only entrance to the venue is up three flights of stairs. The venue is not handicapped accessible. Audience members will be asked to move around during the show.
• Be Prompt. There is no late seating.
• Be Comfortable. Audience members will be asked to move around and sit on the floor. Wear something that makes this okay for you. The show is indoors and the venue is not overly air conditioned. The floor is stone; if you have a portable seat cushion or gardening mat with a handle, you may want to consider bringing it.
• Be Attentive. The venue is a unique and fun space that is also echoey. If you’re not familiar with Shakesperean language, it may take some extra attention to parse those turns of phrase.

Experiential Viewpoint Expression (E.V.E.):

Disembodied, 1st person visual*, 3rd person narrative**, entity*, mortal.

*We are seeing the show through our own eyes and we are entities within the story world. We are not necessarily characters, but perhaps we are part of the scenery: trees, bushes, a wall. We are in the story world; this is supported by the acknowledgement of Romeo.

**The narrative POV of the play has not changed from Shakespeare’s original. The story is being lived by the characters and we see it play out. It is not being narrated by either of them (1st person) and while Romeo does address the audience, he does not address the audience as an audience; he does not acknowledge that he and Juliet are being watched from people outside his world from another place and time. Insted, the immersive nature of this show makes it so that the audience is within his world.

***While the audience does have the opportunity to make a choice at the beginning (who plays whom), that is a choice for the production, not within the production. The choice the audience makes doesn’t impact any story or scene within the production itself. Romeo does speak to the audience, so this acknowledgement makes this production entity effectual point of view (in certain moments, he would not go to the location he does to deliver his lines if the audience weren’t there).

Story Anchor:

The same as for the original play Romeo & Juliet. Feel free to read it and use this template to see if you can write your own.

Pillars of Game:

Voluntary Participation — check!

Goal — None.

Rules — Move when and where the director tells you.

Feedback — None.

Conclusion: This isn’t a game and it wasn’t intended to be. Success!

Who Should Experience This?

Fans of Shakespeare who want less “actory” performances. Folks curious to different styles of immersive theatre. Individuals who’ve always been like, “Ugh, why does Shakespeare have to be THREE HOURS LONG?! Couldn’t they just do it in, like, forty mintues?”

Ticketing and other show information can be found at TheLook.Club.