''After Juliet'' is a play written by Scottish playwright

Sharman Macdonald Sharman Macdonald (born 8 February 1951) is a Scottish playwright, screenwriter, and actress. Life and career Macdonald was born in Glasgow, the daughter of Janet Rewat (née Williams) and Joseph Henry Hosgood MacDonald. She has Scottish and We ...

. It was commissioned for the 2000 Connections programme, in which regional youth theatre groups compete to stage short plays by established playwrights. The basic premise of the play, following on from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'' is "What happened to the

Capulets William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'' contains a relatively distinctive cast of characters. In addition to the play's eponymous protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the play, which is set in Verona, Italy, contains roles ...

and

Montagues William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'' contains a relatively distinctive cast of characters. In addition to the play's eponymous protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the play, which is set in Verona, Italy, contains roles ...

after Romeo and Juliet died?". The setting of ''After Juliet'' is described as "

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

. Or it could be

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, or

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. It could be 1500, 1900, 2000, or 3000". The only place that ''After Juliet'' cannot be set is

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, as one of the characters, Rhona, is from Glasgow, and away from home.Scotsman.com Living
Macdonald's daughter

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...

appeared in th
Heatham House Youth Centre
s NT Connections production, which made the regional finals. It continues to be performed by youth groups around the world.

Plot

The play centres on

Rosaline Rosaline () is a fictional character mentioned in William Shakespeare's tragedy '' Romeo and Juliet''. She is the niece of Lord Capulet. Although an unseen character, her role is important: Romeo's unrequited love for Rosaline leads him to tr ...

, Juliet's cousin and Romeo's ex-flame. Ironically, Rosaline had been in love with Romeo, but wa
playing "hard to get"
Tortured by the loss of her love, Rosaline has become a sullen, venomous woman. She actively seeks to be elected the 'Princess of Cats' and run the Capulet family. Meanwhile, the Capulets and Montagues have obeyed

Prince Escalus William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'' contains a relatively distinctive cast of characters. In addition to the play's eponymous protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the play, which is set in Verona, Italy, contains roles fo ...

and called a truce. The truce quickly descends into a farce as both sides continue to rage against each other. Amid the turmoil more doomed love springs-between

Benvolio Montague Benvolio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's tragedy '' Romeo and Juliet''. He is Lord Montague's nephew and Romeo's cousin. Benvolio serves as an unsuccessful peacemaker in the play, attempting to prevent violence between the Capul ...

and Rosaline. Benvolio is warned by Valentine (Mercutio's twin brother) to stay away from her if he knows what is right. The climax of the play comes during an election to determine whether or not Rosaline or Petruchio (Tybalt's brother) will succeed Tybalt as the Prince or Princess of Cats. The election fails to have any results and the fate of the truce is left open-ended. A 2009 youth, stage version of the show featured Valentine as the twin sister of Mercutio; this added an extra storyline where Valentine is in love with

Benvolio Benvolio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is Lord Montague's nephew and Romeo's cousin. Benvolio serves as an unsuccessful peacemaker in the play, attempting to prevent violence between the Capule ...

and is jealous of

. Benvolio's final scene ends with Valentine running off stage after his rejection.

Characters

*Benvolio, a Montague, Romeo's best friend and cousin *Valentine, a Montague, Mercutio's twin brother (Or sister) *Rosaline, a Capulet, Juliet's cousin *Bianca, suffers from

petit mal Absence seizures are one of several kinds of Generalized epilepsy, generalized seizures. These seizures are sometimes referred to as petit mal seizures (from the French for "little illness", a term dated in the late 18th century). Absence seizure ...

, Juliet's cousin *Helena a Capulet, Bianca's sister, Juliet's cousin *Rhona, a Capulet, a visitor from abroad, Juliet's cousin *Alice, a Capulet, Juliet's cousin *Livia, a Capulet, Rosaline's half-sister, Juliet's cousin *Angelica, a Capulet servant, Juliet's nurse *Lorenzo, a Capulet *Gianni, a Capulet, friend/brother to Lorenzo *Petruchio, a Capulet, Tybalt's brother *Romeo, a dead Montague (non-speaking) *Juliet, a dead Capulet *Drummer, ever present, menacing, a puppeteer of the action *MusiciansSouth London Theatre - After Juliet

References

External links

*
gallery
of pictures from ''After Juliet'' at

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

{{Romeo and Juliet Scottish plays Modern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare Plays and musicals based on Romeo and Juliet 1999 plays