Episode 1

Episode image for Episode 1

Episode 1 of 3

Duration: 1 hour

One city, eight weeks and two contrasting schools come together to put on a professional production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In a unique experiment, each school is cast as one of the two feuding families at the heart of the world's favourite love story.

Romeo and his Montague clan come from a Coventry city centre comprehensive while Juliet and the Capulets are from a Catholic school in the city's northern suburbs. Trying to get the show on the road is artistic director of the National Youth Theatre, Paul Roseby. Also on hand as mentors - one for each school - are Hustle actor and RADA-trained Shakespeare fan Adrian Lester and his wife, actress Lolita Chakrabarti. Can they help the teenage cast overcome their preconceptions about Shakespeare, and work with each other, to create a Romeo and Juliet for a new generation, iambic pentameter and all?

Last on

Fri 11 Jun 2010 01:55 BBC One except HD

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  • Adrian mentors the Montagues

    Adrian mentors the Montagues

    Adrian Lester is best known for his roles in BBC dramas Hustle and Bonekickers. He is also a versatile Shakespearean actor having taken the title role in stage productions of Hamlet and Henry V and even as Rosalind in an all male version of the Bard's comedy As You Like It. Here he plays mentor to the House of Montague, played by pupils from Coventry's Sidney Stringer School.

  • Lolita mentors the Capulets

    Lolita mentors the Capulets

    Lolita Chakrabarti has appeared on stage in numerous Shakespeare productions including A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It and King Lear. Here she takes on the role of mentor for the pupils of Cardinal Newman school in Coventry as they prepare to become characters from the House of Capulet. Lolita also created a specially abridged version of the play for the production.

  • Paul Roseby in rehearsals

    Paul Roseby in rehearsals

    As Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre Paul Roseby is used to working with young people who have drama training. But here he had the chance to work with students with little or no experience of Shakespeare, connecting them with a play he believes has a deep relevance to their lives.

    'There's a branding issue with Shakespeare. Young people think he's out of touch. They judge him on the receding hairline and goatee, but once you scratch the surface this is a brilliant story for young people.'

  • BBC TV Blog

    BBC TV Blog

    Head over to the BBC TV Blog to read a post from Paul Roseby, director of the National Youth Theatre, and one of the main stars from When Romeo Met Juliet.

    Read Paul's blog post at the BBC TV Blog

  • Romeo and Juliet - The Performance

    Romeo and Juliet - The Performance

    For one night only the BBC presents students from Cardinal Newman and Sidney Stringer schools performing William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre.

    Watch the full performance

  • Behind-the-scenes

    Behind-the-scenes

    See behind-the-scenes footage of When Romeo Met Juliet

Credits

Artistic Director
Paul Roseby
Actor Mentor
Adrian Lester
Actor Mentor
Lolita Chakrabarti
Producer
Lynn Barlow
Executive Producer
Michael Poole

Broadcasts

  • Fri 4 Jun 2010 21:00 BBC Two except Northern Ireland (Analogue), Wales (Analogue)

  • Tue 8 Jun 2010 00:10 BBC Two only on England, Scotland, Wales

  • Tue 8 Jun 2010 00:30 BBC Two only on Northern Ireland

See all broadcasts of Episode 1 (4)

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