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Playing the Nurse
My name is Emily and I was lucky enough to be chosen to play the Nurse in Stage2 Youth Theatre’s production of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ at the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham. It has been my favourite play ever since I saw a fantastic production of it at the Royal Shakespeare Company when I was nine years old. Before the auditions, there was a weeklong Summer School where we paraphrased the entire play and discussed the various interpretations the text could yield. This meant that everyone in the cast could understand every line being spoken onstage and really get to grips with the emotions behind the words.
I was surprised to be cast and at first I was nervous because I didn’t want to let everyone down. Rehearsals were very exciting and you never knew quite what to expect because one moment you’d be laughing at Mercutio with the Montague gang and the next you’d be crying because of the tragic but inevitable deaths. As well as acting, we also had opportunities to learn stage combat, help create costumes and decorate masks for Capulet’s ball.
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It’s hard to pick out a favourite scene because I loved all of them! One of the most enjoyable to act in was when Juliet sends the Nurse to find Romeo and ask him about their marriage, and the Nurse infuriates her by refusing to answer her questions and pretending (really badly) to be ill. I think this is a touching scene and shows just how much the two characters care about each other. My favourite scene to watch was undoubtedly the Balcony Scene, because it is so epically beautiful and unashamedly romantic. We all know people who we tease because we love them that much, just like we’ve all fallen for someone like Romeo and Juliet did, though hopefully with less tragic consequences.
Performing at the theatre was fantastic! It was so exciting to see everything working together (the set, costumes, lighting, sound and actors) to create a brilliant show. It was all so much more beautiful than I could have imagined. Acting in the production gave me such a buzz because each scene is different and there’s everything from farcical comedy to gut-wrenching tragedy. It was hard work, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
Being in this play has been a once in a lifetime experience for me. Although I have read the play, seen the movies and studied the text at school, it really doesn’t compare to actually being in the production. It makes me really proud to know that I have contributed in helping to bring it to life from page to stage. I wish that everyone got the opportunity I had to be in such a fabulous production of the world’s greatest love story.
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