January 29 In History: The First Time Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet Is Staged

Illustration (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - On January 29, 1895, for the first time, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was performed in a theater. Romeo and Juliet performed at the theater in London, England. The theater opened in 1577 and is the main venue for Shakespearean plays.

Romeo and Juliet were the theater's headlines, from at least 1597 until the famous Globe Theater opened in 1599.

To quote Britannica, Friday, January 29, Romeo and Juliet was written around 1594–1596 and first published in an unofficial quarto in 1597. The official Kuarto appeared in 1599, which is substantially more reliable.

The third quarto, based on the second, was used by the editors of the First Folio in 1623. The characters in Romeo and Juliet are depicted in literature, music, dance and theater.

The attractiveness of young men and women, whose respective families are mortal enemies, so the popular imagination also shows a love story that ends tragically. Shakespeare describes the setting for Romeo and Juliet in Verona, Italy.

Juliet and Romeo meet and fall in love at the Capulets masquerade party. The romantic scene, when Romeo climbs the wall to the garden of the fruit garden of the Juliet family home, where Juliet is alone at the window.

Since the rich family is Romeo's enemy, they both love and marry secretly. The love story of Romeo and Juliet ends tragically because they both died.

Romeo commits suicide thinking Juliet is dead. Meanwhile, Juliet, who at that time thought Romeo was dead, finally decided to commit suicide.

In the 20th century, Romeo and Juliet was adapted in various versions. One of them is a film released in 1936. There is even a version in Indonesian translated by Trisno Sumardjo which is entitled Romeo and Julia.

Shakespeare

William Shakespeare himself is the greatest writer in England. Shakespeare was born April 26, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England.

Shakespeare has written about 38 plays in the genres of tragedy, comedy, history, and 154 sonatas and poetry. Another Shakespearean legacy, besides Romeo and Juliet is the Globe Theater.

The theater has a unique design. Actors appear without microphones or sets, half of the 1,500 theater audience stands, where they can interact directly with the actors on stage.

The theater was also built without a roof. So the audience could be caught in the rain or the heat. However, in May 2020, there were restrictions on activities in the UK due to COVID-19 which resulted in the closure of the iconic Globe Theater in London, even in danger of being permanently closed.

It is known that Globe Thetare maintenance costs depend on public access. It's reported that 95 percent of the revenue is generated not only through shows, but rent money for large events like weddings. Outside of Arts Council England (ACE) patronage, the Globe Theater also failed to raise money from additional schemes.