they're saucing out the the depth of
each other's love and
figuring out if they're both willing to
jump off the cliff
romeo juliet was due to be performed in
the olivier theatre in summer 2020
the sets were underway and we were ready
to go and then the pandemic
hit the production of course like every
other production in the world was
cancelled
and yet through david sable the producer
and rufus norris the artistic director
of the national theatre
their vision their tenacity said hey
hang on
what about coming together and trying
still to preserve something from that
production we know we can't do a play
we know we can't do an empty live of
recording that play in front of a live
audience what about trying to make a
film
of the play instead of just saying
that's not possible
they said well what is possible and came
up with this
beautiful hybrid idea of
allowing an abandoned theatre which is
full of
memories and past performances how that
theater can actually become a character
who
makes the story come to life in this
group of actors
so it's almost like the building is
allowing the story to be told
we had the cinematographer with us from
day one
so it was unlike any other film kind of
thing
or even a theater thing where we're all
sharing ideas all the time and so film
references and
pictures and paintings and music so
there's lots of things in the pot how
it's worked in reality has been
magic it's just kind of like film crew
and theater crew
and actors and dancers we've all been
working out at the same time
together in the rehearsal room we're
giving it loads of energy
yeah and like trying to fill like a huge
theater-sized space and then suddenly
and then as soon as tim is there like
keep still yeah please we're used to in
theater
a single candle representing thousands
or
a small bit of music telling us that
we're in egypt whereas in a film we'd
have some establishing shots of the nile
and so this conceptually takes that idea
and
tussles with it i think everyone was
aware of trying to find
a way to capture the experience of
theatre
in a way that is trying to engage the
viewer
in the same act of imagination as they
experience when they come to the theater
but when viewing a film it's a
i suppose a reminder of the excitement
and the joy and the danger
of first risking yourself for the love
and the affection of another
we're still trying to work out what love
means or trying to find ways of
articulating what love means and
how complex love is and how sort of
intoxicating it can be
nobody wants them to be together the
whole world is against them being
together but they still fight
till the till the end so that they can
have a life with love instead of hate
theatres are all about community of
course they're all about gatherings
they're all about
the one thing that we can't do right now
which is to be together in a group
so of course it's eerie of course it's
poignant of course it's
filled with ghosts and yet like any
sacred space
it's also filled with promise it's also
filled with the extraordinary
gestures laughter tears passion
that have filled the space where i'm
sitting for decades and decades and
decades so actually sitting here now
working in this space filming in this
space has been an enormous
act of hope and of celebration
of what has come and what will come
[Music]
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