University of Lethbridge MFA Drama student Sean Guist is pleased to present R and J for the first Theatre XTra production of the season. Guist adapted Shakespeare’s famous play “Romeo and Juliet” into and hour long production featuring three different Romeo and Juliette stories taking place in three different centuries — the seventeenth, nineteenth and twenty-first centuries — couples who want to be together in spite of social conventions and mores of the day.
It runs in the David Spinks Theatre at 8 p.m. from Sept. 29 to Oct.1, plus a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday afternoon.
“There are three different couples in three different centuries,” he said.
“I’ve stripped the story down to the essence, and eliminated most of the characters. There’s no Lady Capulet or Mercutio” he continued.
The female-dominated cast features Camille Pavlenko, Makambe Simamba, Lauren Guindon, Ben Toner, Danielle Gurr and Lauren Steyn.
“ I adapted it according to who showed up to auditions and what their strengths were. There are three Romeos, and three Juliets including a same sex couple, a woman who plays a young man of about 14 (the character’s age in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet according to Shakespearian tradition and one couple, whose story is mostly told through movement and dance.
“There isn’t much dialogue in that story,” he said.
They have been rehearsing since mid-August, mostly playing with the characters and getting familiar with each other.
“Everyone knows the story, so it is interesting what you can do with it. You fall in love with the characters,” he said.
“It has come together well ,” he said adding the longer than usual rehearsal time meant the cast could build on their characters before beginning actual rehearsals at the beginning of September.
“It’s a beautiful play. And people are familiar with the story so it’s been a lot of fun,” he said.
Tickets for “R & J: An Original Performance,” TheatreXtra’s premiere production of the season go on sale Sept. 12 at the University Box Office, Monday – Friday, 12:30 – 3:30 pm or by calling (403) 329-2616. Tickets are $11 Regular and $7 for students and seniors. Mature Content.
