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PEOPLE’S ROMEO EDUCATION RESOURCE PACK TARA, 356 Garratt Lane, London, SW18 4ES. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8333 4457 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8870 9540 www.tara-arts.com 1

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PEOPLE’S ROMEO EDUCATION RESOURCE PACK

TARA, 356 Garratt Lane, London, SW18 4ES. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8333 4457 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8870 9540 www.tara-arts.com

1

PEOPLE’S ROMEO EDUCATION RESOURCE PACK

TARA, 356 Garratt Lane, London, SW18 4ES. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8333 4457 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8870 9540 www.tara-arts.com

2

Contents Introduction 3

About TARA 4-5

From Pala Gaan to People’s Romeo 6-7

From Bangladesh to Britain 7

Shakespeare’s Life and Works 8

Romeo and Juliet – Background and Synopsis 9-10

Romeo and Juliet Main Characters 11-13

About Pala Gaan – classroom activity

14-15

Speaking Shakespeare’s verse – classroom activity

16

People’s Romeo a story of young love across cultural divides – classroom activity

17

Would you like to have been an actor in Shakespeare’s day? – classroom activity

18-19

You can be a Theatre Critic, writing about performance – classroom activity

20

Join or our networks and follow the Tour in 2010 21

Production and Tour credits 22

Further Resources 23

Feedback form 24

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INTRODUCTION This Education Resource Pack provides a unique insight into this production of People’s Romeo to enable pupil and student audiences to gain a deeper understanding of the play. The Education Resource Pack is designed for National Curriculum teaching at Key Stages 3 and 4 in English, Theatre Studies and Citizenship. In TARA’s production Bangladeshi theatre breathes new life into the greatest love story ever told, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Weaving together Shakespeare’s verse and Bengali poetry, People’s Romeo is a dynamic cross-cultural performance made for our time. Five performers use Pala Gaan – a theatre style which combines music, dance and storytelling - to re-invent this classic of English theatre. Please let us know if you have found this pack useful by filling in the feedback form on the last page of the pack.

Introducing the Montague and Capulet households

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About TARA

TARA produces global theatre for

local audiences. Positioned

between East and West, TARA

has pioneered cross-cultural

theatre for over 3 decades.

What does TARA do? The company tours vibrant adaptations of European and Asian classics and new work, brings the great stories of the world to children in junior schools and, at TARA Studio, develops emerging artists and new audiences. We have produced work at the National Theatre, Trafalgar Square, the British Library and a host of other theatres across Britain, Europe, and Asia. Why? On July 4th 1976, Gurdip Singh Chaggar, a 17-year old Sikh boy living in Southall, fell victim to a racist murder. Out of the protests surrounding his death, an Asian public presence emerged in Britain, with a variety of Asian Youth Movements springing up in all the major British cities... and TARA. When? TARA was founded in 1977, by young Asians. It was the first Asian-led theatre company to be formed in the UK. TARA Studio TARA Studio opened in 2007. The Studio regularly premieres new work from emerging and established artists.

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“Tara’s work is a terrific synthesis of east and west.”

Sir Richard Eyre “Tara has had an extraordinary journey from passionate student work inspired initially by a racist murder in Southall to its present position firmly embedded in the British national theatre scene. They have brought another sensibility onto the scene, stretched British cultural life and helped to make those of us with different origins visible to both ourselves and others.”

Naseem Khan, OBE

People’s Romeo UK in tour 2010.

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From Pala Gaan to People’s Romeo

A foreword from the Director

Discovering Pala Gaan I first came across Pala Gaan at a chance encounter in Bangladesh and was immediately attracted to its energetic storytelling and inclusion of the audience. The popular storytelling form of Pala Gaan is immediate, fast paced and hugely entertaining. As an audience member at my first Pala Gaan show, I was struck by how involved I felt with the action on stage, it was an exciting and visceral experience. It was almost two years on from my first experience of Pala Gaan in Bangladesh that I met Dilu Hossain in London. Dilu is performing in People’s Romeo and trained as a Pala Gaan artist in Bangladesh before he moved to the UK. Finally I had found an artist and performer who I could work with to create our first Pala Gaan performance at TARA. As an experiment, we staged an open rehearsal of Velua, a traditional folk tale from Bangladesh, at TARA Studio in 2008. Audiences were immediately seduced by the energy, music and clarity of the central narrative, albeit performed in Bengali. At this moment it was clear to me that the popularity of Pala Gaan theatre could easily migrate from the East to the West, from Bangladesh to the UK. Creating People’s Romeo I have a great love of Shakespeare and interpreting his stories from different cultural perspectives, so from the onset of our Pala Gaan adventure at TARA I elected to stage Romeo and Juliet – the perfect tale for reinvention. Every community has its Romeo and Juliet whether it be a rural village in Bangladesh or a inner city school in Britain’s cities. It is a global story of family feuds and earnest forbidden love. Shakespeare’s story transcends language and nationality. In People’s Romeo I aim to enlighten audiences by fusing Shakespeare’s verse with the Pala Gaan style. I hope through Shakespeare’s verse and the bi-lingual script, which will be performed in English and Bengali, to offer audiences a new sense of the familiar story. Over the past two years we have developed People’s Romeo, having nurtured the Pala Gaan artists at TARA Studio in south London. I have assembled a cast of Pala Gaan performers and musicians with British actors to blend Shakespeare’s classic with Bangladesh’s most popular theatre.

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Audiences and People’s Romeo I hope People’s Romeo will bring new audiences to appreciate Shakespeare afresh: audiences from all backgrounds who until now may not have had the opportunity to enjoy or relate to his plays.

Mukul Ahmed (Director)

From Bangladesh to Britain Two cultural traditions fuse together from East and West in People’s Romeo. Pala Gaan from the East in Bangladesh is blended with Shakespeare’s tragedy from the West in Great Britain.

The flag of Bangladesh

The flag of Great Britain

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SHAKESPEARE’S LIFE AND WORKS Year Shakespeare’s Life Works 1564 Shakespeare Born 1582 Shakespeare Married 1583 Birth of daughter Susanna The Queen's Company formed

in London

1585 Birth of twins, Judith and Hamnet 1587-1592 Departure from Stratford Establishment in London as an

actor/playwright The Comedy of Errors Titus Andronicus The Taming of the Shrew Henry VI, 1,2,3 Richard III

1593 Continues to work in London as an actor and playwright

Venus and Adonis Begins writing the Sonnets,probably completed by c.1597 or earlier Two Gentlemen of Verona Love's Labour's Lost

1594 Founding member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men The Rape of Lucrece 1594-1596 Prosperity and recognition as the leading London

playwright

1596 Hamnet dies aged 11 Aged just 32 years old Shakespeare writes…..

A Midsummer Night's Dream Romeo and Juliet Richard II The Merchant of Venice

1597-1599 Purchases New Place, Stratford. 1599 The Globe Theatre built on Bankside.

Shakespeare is a shareholder and receives about 10% of the profits

Henry IV,1,2 The Merry Wives of Windsor As You Like It Much Ado About Nothing Henry V Julius Caesar

1603 The Lord Chamberlain's Men, now The King's Men, perform at court more than any other company

1600-1608 1601 Shakespeare's father dies 1608 Shakespeare's mother dies Twelfth Night

Hamlet Troilus & Cressida Alls Well That Ends Well Measure for Measure Othello King Lear Macbeth Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus, Timon of Athens

1609-1611 1609 Publication of the Sonnets Pericles Prince of Tyre Cymbeline The Winter's Tale, The Tempest

1623 April 23, 1616 Shakespeare dies and is buried at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford

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ROMEO & JULIET - BACKGROUND & SYNOPSIS

BACKGROUND Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young "star-cross'd lovers" whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet and Macbeth, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.

SYNOPSIS The play, set in Verona, begins with a street brawl between Montagues and Capulets who are sworn enemies. The Prince of Verona intervenes and declares that further breach of the peace will be punishable by death. Later, the Capulets plan a ball to which they have invited Count Paris who – despite being much older than the 13 year old Juliet – wishes to marry her. Lady Capulet and Juliet’s Nurse try and persuade Juliet to accept Paris’ courtship. Count Paris talks to Capulet about marrying his daughter, but Capulet is wary of the request because Juliet is only thirteen. Capulet asks Paris to wait another two years and invites him to attend a planned Capulet ball. Lady Capulet and Juliet’s nurse try to persuade Juliet to accept Paris’s courtship. Meanwhile, at the house of Montague, Benvolio talks with his cousin Romeo, Lord Montague’s son, about Romeo’s recent depression. Benvolio discovers that it stems from unrequited infatuation for a girl named Rosaline, one of Capulet’s nieces. Persuaded by Benvolio and Mercutio, Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet house in hopes of meeting Rosaline. However, Romeo instead meets and falls in love with Juliet. After the ball, in what is now called the “balcony scene”, Romeo sneaks into the Capulet courtyard and overhears Juliet on her balcony vowing her love to him in spite of her family’s hatred of the Montagues. Romeo makes himself known to her and they agree to be married. With the help of Friar Laurence, who hopes to reconcile the two families through their children’s union, they are secretly married the next day.

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Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, incensed that Romeo had sneaked into the Capulet ball, challenges him to a duel. Romeo, now considering Tybalt his kinsman, refuses to fight. Mercutio is offended by Tybalt’s insolence, as well as Romeo’s “vile submission,” and accepts the duel on Romeo’s behalf. Mercutio is fatally wounded when Romeo attempts to break up the fight. Grief-stricken and wracked with guilt, Romeo confronts and slays Tybalt. Montague argues that Romeo has justly executed Tybalt for the murder of Mercutio. The Prince, exiles Romeo from Verona and declares that if Romeo returns, “that hour is his last.” Romeo secretly spends the night in Juliet’s chamber, where they consummate their marriage. Capulet, misinterpreting Juliet’s grief, agrees to marry her to Count Paris and threatens to disown her when she refuses to become Paris’s “joyful bride.” When she then pleads for the marriage to be delayed, her mother rejects her. Juliet visits Friar Laurence for help, and he offers her a drug that will put her into a death-like coma for “two and forty hours.” The Friar promises to send a messenger to inform Romeo of the plan, so that he can rejoin her when she awakens. On the night before the wedding, she takes the drug and, when discovered apparently dead, she is laid in the family crypt. The messenger, however, does not reach Romeo and, instead, he learns of Juliet’s apparent death from his servant Balthasar. Heartbroken, Romeo buys poison from an apothecary and goes to the Capulet crypt. He encounters Paris who has come to mourn Juliet privately. Believing Romeo to be a vandal, Paris confronts him and, in the ensuing battle, Romeo kills Paris. Still believing Juliet to be dead, he drinks the poison. Juliet then awakens and, finding Romeo dead, stabs herself with his dagger. The feuding families and the Prince meet at the tomb to find all three dead. Friar Laurence recounts the story of the two “star-cross’d lovers”. The families are reconciled by their children’s deaths and agree to end their violent feud. The play ends with the Prince’s elegy for the lovers:

For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

In People’s Romeo TARA re-invent the storytelling and focus on the central relationship between Romeo and Juliet. The synopsis included here provides the detailed story based upon Shakespeare’s original.

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ROMEO & JULIET - MAIN CHARACTERS Romeo - The son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague. A young man of about sixteen, Romeo is handsome, intelligent, and sensitive. Though impulsive and immature, his idealism and passion make him an extremely likable character. He lives in the middle of a violent feud between his family and the Capulets, but he is not at all interested in violence. His only interest is love. At the beginning of the play he is madly in love with a woman named Rosaline, but the instant he lays eyes on Juliet, he falls in love with her and forgets Rosaline. Thus, Shakespeare gives us every reason to question how real Romeo’s new love is, but Romeo goes to extremes to prove the seriousness of his feelings. He secretly marries Juliet, the daughter of his father’s worst enemy; he happily takes abuse from Tybalt; and he would rather die than live without his beloved. Romeo is also an affectionate and devoted friend to his relative Benvolio, Mercutio, and Friar Lawrence.

Juliet - The daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. A beautiful thirteen-year-old girl, Juliet begins the play as a naïve child who has thought little about love and marriage, but she grows up quickly upon falling in love with Romeo, the son of her family’s great enemy. Because she is a girl in an aristocratic family, she has none of the freedom Romeo has to roam around the city, climb over walls in the middle of the night, or get into swordfights. Nevertheless, she shows amazing courage in trusting her entire life and future to Romeo, even refusing to believe the worst reports about him after he gets involved in a fight with her cousin. Juliet’s closest friend and confidant is her nurse, though she’s willing to shut the Nurse out of her life the moment the Nurse turns against Romeo. Friar Lawrence - A Franciscan friar, friend to both Romeo and Juliet. Kind, civic-minded, a proponent of moderation, and always ready with a plan, Friar Lawrence secretly marries the impassioned lovers in hopes that the union might eventually bring peace to Verona. As well as being a Catholic holy man, Friar Lawrence is also an expert in the use of seemingly mystical potions and herbs. Mercutio - A kinsman to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend. One of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays, Mercutio overflows with imagination, wit, and, at times, a strange, biting satire and brooding fervor. Mercutio loves wordplay, especially sexual double entendres. He can be quite hotheaded, and hates people who are affected, pretentious, or obsessed with the latest fashions. He finds Romeo’s romanticized ideas about love tiresome, and tries to convince Romeo to view love as a simple matter of sexual appetite.

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The Nurse - Juliet’s nurse, the woman who breast-fed Juliet when she was a baby and has cared for Juliet her entire life. A vulgar, long-winded, and sentimental character, the Nurse provides comic relief with her frequently inappropriate remarks and speeches. But, until a disagreement near the play’s end, the Nurse is Juliet’s faithful confidante and loyal intermediary in Juliet’s affair with Romeo. She provides a contrast with Juliet, given that her view of love is earthy and sexual, whereas Juliet is idealistic and intense. The Nurse believes in love and wants Juliet to have a nice-looking husband, but the idea that Juliet would want to sacrifice herself for love is incomprehensible to her. Tybalt - A Capulet, Juliet’s cousin on her mother’s side. Vain, fashionable, supremely aware of courtesy and the lack of it, he becomes aggressive, violent, and quick to draw his sword when he feels his pride has been injured. Once drawn, his sword is something to be feared. He loathes Montagues.

Capulet - The patriarch of the Capulet family, father of Juliet, husband of Lady Capulet, and enemy, for unexplained reasons, of Montague. He truly loves his daughter, though he is not well acquainted with Juliet’s thoughts or feelings, and seems to think that what is best for her is a “good” match with Paris. Often prudent, he commands respect and propriety, but he is liable to fly into a rage when either is lacking. Lady Capulet - Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife. A woman who herself married young (by her own estimation she gave birth to Juliet at close to the age of fourteen), she is eager to see her daughter marry Paris. She is an ineffectual mother, relying on the Nurse for moral and pragmatic support. Montague - Romeo’s father, the patriarch of the Montague clan and bitter enemy of Capulet. At the beginning of the play, he is chiefly concerned about Romeo’s melancholy. Lady Montague - Romeo’s mother, Montague’s wife. She dies of grief after Romeo is exiled from Verona. Paris - A kinsman of the Prince, and the suitor of Juliet most preferred by Capulet. Once Capulet has promised him he can marry Juliet, he behaves very presumptuous toward her, acting as if they are already married.

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Benvolio - Montague’s nephew, Romeo’s cousin and thoughtful friend, he makes a genuine effort to defuse violent scenes in public places, though Mercutio accuses him of having a nasty temper in private. He spends most of the play trying to help Romeo get his mind off Rosaline, even after Romeo has fallen in love with Juliet. Balthasar - Romeo’s dedicated servant, who brings Romeo the news of Juliet’s death, unaware that her death is a ruse. Sampson and Gregory - Two servants of the house of Capulet, who, like their master, hate the Montagues. At the outset of the play, they successfully provoke some Montague men into a fight.

Two feuding families, the Montague and Capulet

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About Pala Gaan Pala Gaan evolved as a popular performance genre in the greater Mymensingh district of East Bangladesh in the 16th century, at the time Shakespeare was writing for the Globe Theatre in London. The performance troupe in Pala Gaan typically consists of the bayati (Narrator) and up to five choral singers/musicians dohars, who play traditional instruments such as harmonium and dhol (drum) and dotara (stringed instrument). The bayati describes events of the narrative accompanied by the dohars playing music and singing choral passages. As he sings, the bayati also dances and enacts what is described in the song. Interspersed between the lyrical passages are sections of improvised prose rendered solely by the bayati but which respond to audience reaction. The dynamic relationship between Pala Gaan artists and audiences stems from the market squares of Bangladesh and is important in generating a direct and informal engagement. People’s Romeo captures this sense of live interaction and democracy between the audience and performer. Pala Gaan uses techniques of Alienation, in which the performers take themselves out of character to speak directly to the audience. This style was introduced to European theatre by Bertolt Brecht in Germany, who himself was inspired by theatre from Asia.

The stage for Pala Gaan performances – the market square.

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Follow-up classroom activity Imagine you are in a Pala Gaan performance. Using some of the Pala Gaan techniques (storytelling, music and dance) how would you tell the story of the family feuds in Romeo and Juliet? You might like to try some ideas out and then perform an extract in the schools playground to imagine you are in a market square in Bangladesh.

In Pala Gaan the bayati (Narrator) introduces the play and tells the story.

In Pala Gaan the dohars (musicians and singers), create the atmosphere and underscore the action.

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Speaking Shakespeare’s verse - classroom activity Most characters in Shakespeare’s plays speak in a special rhythm. It is a pattern that is also found in poetry, especially in a type of poem called a sonnet. The pattern is called an iambic pentameter. Speaking in the rhythm will help the students understanding of Shakespeare’s meaning. To work out what that means, let’s split the words up. The first bit - iamb - means two beats, the first is light (or unstressed) and the second is heavy (stressed). It sounds like dee-dum. Try clapping it. A light beat and a heavy beat. That’s iambic. The next bit - pentameter - has pent in it. What else has got pent in it? Pentagon? Pentangle? So you might have guessed that pentameter has something to do with five. The next part is meter. Well a meter measures things, the gas maybe or the amount of time you’ve paid to park the car. OK, so that gives us five measures of iamb. What does that mean? Well, it’s 5 dee-dums. Clap the rhythm as you speak. Dee-dum dee-dum dee-dum dee-dum dee-dum

Follow-up classroom activity

Try a conversation in iambic pentameter:

Come in, sit down and make a cup of tea I don’t mind if I do, you’re very kind

Can you make up your own iambic pentameters?

Try speaking aloud this speech from Romeo and Juliet, you might find it helpful to highlight the iamb…..

PRINCE

What, ho! you men, you beasts, That quench the fire of your pernicious rage With purple fountains issuing from your veins, On pain of torture, from those bloody hands Throw your mistemper'd weapons to the ground, And hear the sentence of your moved prince. Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word, By thee, old Capulet, and Montague, Have thrice disturb'd the quiet of our streets: If ever you disturb our streets again, Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.

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People’s Romeo a story of young love across cultural divides

People’s Romeo portrays the relationship between an Asian Romeo and a white European Juliet. It shows the strength of their love for one another in spite of the inability of their families to accept their relationship across the cultural divides. The play examines the destructive nature of the Montague and Capulet families’ prejudices and the effects this has on their children. In a thriving and in places disparate melting pot of cultures, this story in 21st century Britain has a renewed topicality that is extraordinarily pertinent for many families and young people across the country. People’s Romeo tells the story of Romeo and Juliet from a fresh perspective and seeks to engage theatre audiences, communities and young people with Shakespeare. FROM EAST TO WEST

Follow-up classroom activity In TARA’s production of Romeo and Juliet, People’s Romeo, Romeo is from the East and Juliet is from the West. With a map of the world mark where your parents where born. How many different countries do the students in your class come from? What do you think it was like for them to settle in a new, strange country?

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE BEEN AN ACTOR IN SHAKESPEARE’S DAY? Classroom activity

Did you know that all the women in Shakespeare’s plays were played by young men or boys? In People’s Romeo many of the male parts are played by the female actors. Like Pala Gaan performances in the market squares of Bangladesh, Shakespeare’s theatre, the Globe in London, was built with an open roof so it could get very chilly! There were no electric lights or digital special effects. The scenery was very basic so Shakespeare relied on his words to paint a picture for his audience. When you were given your part to learn, it was written on a roll of parchment. It was too time consuming to write out the whole play for each actor so you would just have your own role written out (on a roll – get it!) You would learn your part and the cue, which would be the last words spoken by the previous speaker, and you would have to listen really carefully to what was being said to know when to speak. There were about 26 actors in Shakespeare’s company at any time. They would have been employed in several different plays, possibly performing two or three different plays in the same week. Could you have learnt all those lines? The audience could be as big as 2500 people. An actor needed a loud voice to project the dialogue to the whole audience. If the Audience didn’t like what they saw they would boo or pelt the stage with oranges but if they did like the performance they would cheer and clap wildly. The Groundlings where audience members who stood on the ground, often for 3 or 4 hours to watch the performance, they were very close to the actors on stage and would often call out, like street theatre today or Pala Gaan shows in the market squares.

Drawing of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.

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Follow-up classroom activity Imagine you are an actor in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. (You will have to imagine you are all men or boys, sorry, but those male actors had to imagine they were women, so you may have to pretend to be a man pretending to be a woman!) Write a letter home explaining what part you play and what it’s like in Shakespeare’s company.

In People’s Romeo, the actresses play male roles here they are seen as Sampson and Gregory.

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YOU CAN BE A THEATRE CRITIC Theatre Critics write about plays they have seen at the theatre, they write reviews. These reviews often appear in newspapers such The Guardian, The Times and The Independent.

WRITING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE Why does a director make certain choices? How do the lighting, costume and set help to tell the story? Watch carefully and write notes after the play. These questions will help you: THE STAGE Q: What can you see on the stage? COSTUME Q: What colours and styles are being used? Q: What else do the costumes tell us about the characters? LIGHTING Q: What colours and shades of colour are being used? Q: What levels of brightness are being used and why? Q: When do the lights change? THE PERFORMERS Q: In this production of People’s Romeo, the actors double up their parts (see the PRODUCTION & TOUR CREDITS page) When you watch the play, why do you think the director chose to pair the characters in this particular way? Remember there are both practical and thematic reasons. Q; What role does the narrator play in helping to tell the story? Q: How do actors vary their movement, gesture, facial expression to show they are playing different roles? Q: How do the actors use the set? Q: How do the actors relate to the audience? THE MUSIC Q In this production of People’s Romeo music is used to highlight the drama and create atmosphere. What did music make you think and feel? AND LASTLY BUT MOST IMORTANTLY Q: What does the play make you think, feel, want to talk about?

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Teacher and students can follow the production on tour across the UK and find out more about TARA by joining our networks:

TARA_Arts

Tara Arts

See the trailer and audience reactions to People’s Romeo http://www.youtube.com/user/UTara07

Tour Schedule 2010 Many of theatre’s have specially arranged Post Show discussions planned so that audiences can meet the actors and ask direct questions about the production and performance. Thurs 09 & Fri 10 Sep TARA Studio, London 020 8333 4457

www.tara-arts.com Tue 14 - Sat 18 Sep Greenwich Theatre, London 020 8858 7755

www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk Tue 21 - Sat 25 Sep The Drum, Plymouth Theatre Royal 01752 230 440

www.theatreroyal.com Tue 28 - Wed 29 Sep Arena Thetare, Wolverhampton 01902 321 321

www.arena.wlv.ac.uk Thurs 30 Sep The Hawth Crawley 01293 553 636

https://tickets.hawth.co.uk Fri 01 Oct Asia House, London 020 7307 5459

www.asiahouse.org Wed 6th - Sat 16th Oct Waterman's, London 020 8232 1010

www.watermans.org.uk Mon 18 - Tues 19 Oct Hull Truck, Hull 01482 323 638

www.hulltruck.co.uk Thurs 21 Oct Darlington Arts Centre 01325 486 555 22

www.darlington.gov.uk/culture/arts Fri 22 Oct The Drum, Birmingham 0121 333 2444

www.the-drum.org.uk

PEOPLE’S ROMEO EDUCATION RESOURCE PACK

TARA, 356 Garratt Lane, London, SW18 4ES. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8333 4457 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8870 9540 www.tara-arts.com

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PRODUCTION & TOUR CREDITS

Cast: Delwar Hossain Dilu – Romeo, Abraham, Lady Capulet,

Friar Laurence and Lead Narrator Caitlin Thorburn – Juliet, Samson, Prince, Lord Montague,

Tybalt, Friar Laurence and Narrator Leesa Gazi - Nurse, Gregory, Lady Montague, Benvolio

and Narrator Sohini Alam - Singer/Musician Swagata Biswas – Musician/Drummer Director Mukul Ahmed Designer Sophie Jump Lighting Designer Howard Hudson Production photographs by Richard Worts, www.dashdigital.biz and Shanney Mulchanney. Education advisor Helen Cadbury http://www.theatrestudy.com Helen Cadbury is an education advisor and drama-in-education facilitator. Through Theatre Study Helen has created Education Resource Packs for TARA’s productions of The Tempest, Bully Richard, Sailing to Britain and The Black Album. We gratefully acknowledge Helen’s work in the creation of these previous resource pack.

With thanks to:

PEOPLE’S ROMEO EDUCATION RESOURCE PACK

TARA, 356 Garratt Lane, London, SW18 4ES. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8333 4457 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8870 9540 www.tara-arts.com

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FURTHER RESOURCES

We want to encourage students and teachers to learn more about Eastern and Western theatre traditions and Shakespeare. Below are some suggestions to help further the research and learning.

Weblinks http://www.tara-arts.com (includes news and information about the company and our current shows, archive information about previous shows and a downloadable version of this pack and packs from previous shows) The following websites provide useful information but please note: Tara Arts is not responsible for their content or availability. http://teachit.co.uk has several lesson plans and schemes of work for teaching The Tempest in the English curriculum http://www.penguinclassics.co.uk Teacher’s Guide to the Tempest including detailed synopsis and imaginative preparation activities.

Shakespeare dictionary and glossary of terms http://www.kidzworld.com/article/3989-shakespearean-glossary

Books Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, various editions. Romeo and Juliet - Spark Notes useful back material for study of the play

Films Romeo and Juliet (1996) Directed by Baz Luhrmann. Starring Leonardo Di Caprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo Romeo and Juliet (1968) Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, narrated by Laurence Olivier Shakespeare – The Animated Tales (1992) British- Russian co-production, excellent animation and accessible telling of the stories. Available from the National Theatre Bookshop and various online retailers.

PEOPLE’S ROMEO EDUCATION RESOURCE PACK

TARA, 356 Garratt Lane, London, SW18 4ES. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8333 4457 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8870 9540 www.tara-arts.com

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FEEDBACK FORM

If you have found this pack useful as an introduction to the production, please take a moment to give us your feedback. What course are your students studying (level/examining body?) Which sections did you use with your students before seeing the play? Which sections did you use with your students after seeing the play? Was the level of this pack appropriate for your students? Is there any other information you would have liked to enhance your students’ experience of seeing this production? Any other comments? Please return TARA at the address below