THE ENDING may be a downer, but Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet remains one of the most enduring love stories.
This coming weekend sees a limited release of a filmed Broadway stage production.
Starring Orlando Bloom in his Broadway debut as Romeo opposite Condola Rashad, who has back-to- back Tony nods (for Stick Fly and The Trip to Bountiful) this is the first R&J staging on Broadway in more than 35 years.
Several of the supporting cast are also Tony nominees and the production is a modernised version of Shakespeare’s best known tragedy.
Directed by David Leveaux at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, it also stars South African actor Conrad Kemp as Benvolio (the second time he’s worked with Bloom since both of them worked on the film, City of Violence).
The filmed version – which was accomplished using nine cameras situated in front-row seats or tucked around the stage –is directed by Don Roy King, who worked in the same capacity on four previous Broadway-to-screen productions which have been filmed.
While the stage play closed in December at a loss, this film version opens up a new revenue stream as well as bringing Broadway theatre productions more in line with their West End counterparts. The National Theatre in London first started filming theatre productions and streaming them to cinemas five years ago specifically to address dwindling audiences and revenue and it has turned into a succesful venture.
• Romeo and Juliet on Broadway, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 5.30pm and Sunday at 2.30pm at Nu Metro Hyde Park, Emperors Palace and The Glen in Joburg; Canal Walk and V&A Waterfront in Cape Town; The Pavilion in Durban; Walmer Park in PE and Woodlands in Pretoria.