Introducing a Shakespeare play to a class full of resistant students can be daunting. One sure way to spark student engagement is to introduce contemporary works that approach the original plays through modern critical lenses. This practice can be especially fruitful for Romeo and Juliet which has inspired countless movies, songs, and other artistic productions, many of which explore gender, sexuality, and race in our modern world. Incorporating contemporary works into your Romeo and Juliet instruction can ignite real interest in students who might otherwise disengage at the mention of Shakespeare.
We have put together a list of contemporary projects and adaptations that challenge traditional ideas about Romeo and Juliet, as.png)
well as some that are just fun modern twists. While introducing any of these projects can be a great jumping off point for all students, consider the intersectional identities present in your classroom when choosing the works that will be the most culturally relevant to your unique students.
After students have explored these works (or others they have found in their own research), encourage them to use the myShakespeare Notebook feature to compare and contrast the themes and ideas they found in contemporary projects with those in the original text. You may want to assign a series of small writing tasks or a final essay addressing the following questions:
- What themes are consistent in both the original text and the contemporary projects?
- What story elements from the original text rarely show up in modern works? Why might they be left out?
- In contemporary stage and film productions, how does casting impact the story, if at all? What about the casting on myShakespeare? (Consider race, gender, and age)
- What do you think it is about this story that continues to inspire so many different types of contemporary artists and creator
We plan to update this list as new works emerge, but please feel free to email us at info@myshakespeare.com if you have any suggestions that we may have missed!
Romeo and Juliet Contemporary Connections
- Romeo and Juliet (2024) This recent stage play stars Tom Holland and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers (link to production site only).
- & Juliet on Broadway! "Juliet’s new story bursts to life through a playlist of pop anthems as iconic as her name, including 'Since U Been Gone‚' 'Roar,' 'Baby One More Time,' 'Larger Than Life‚' 'That’s The Way It Is', and 'Can't Stop the Feeling!'—all from the genius songwriter/producer behind more #1 hits than any other artist this century. Break free of the balcony scene and get into this romantic comedy that proves there’s life after Romeo."
- Romeo y Julieta (2021) The Public Theater’s bilingual audio drama starring Lupita Nyong’o features a mix of modern Spanish translation and original text.
- These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong A 2020 novel taking place in Shanghai during the 1920s
- Romeo & Juliet Retold Through Hip Hop Dance and Roller Skating This short film was filmed in the Royal Opera House.
- Star Cross'd: Romeo and Juliet Retold Laura Dockrill's Star Cross'd is a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, set on a British beach, where two families, “both alike in common crime,” wage a turf war over ice cream.
- Comparing ALL the Romeo & Juliet Movies This MsMojo video looks at the most important components of this tale of star-crossed lovers, and examines how different films have deviated from the source material.
- The Language of Flowers by Edit Villareal This 1991 play takes place in a Mexican-American community in Los Angeles. This link provides the introduction to the play, the entirety of which is featured in the anthology book, The Bard in the Borderlands
- Romeo and Juliet resource page via LatinxShakespeares.org This list compiles Latinx adaptations of Romeo and Juliet along with a plethora of information and useful links.
- Romeo and/or Juliet This illustrated chooseable-path adventure book offering over a hundred different possible endings to the classic play is “Packed with exciting choices, fun puzzles, secret surprises, terrible puns, and more than a billion possible storylines.” Also available in Spanish!
- Matthew Bourne’s Romeo + Juliet A dance theater adaptation set in an asylum, this touring show depicts “Shakespeare’s timeless story of forbidden love with a scintillating injection of raw passion and youthful vitality.”
- Takes on Shakes: Romeo & Juliet This article and several video interviews with the director and artists behind a 2020 queer adaptation of R & J that explore gender identity and sexuality through the lens of the play.
- R&J by Joe Colarco This short video about the theater adaptation R&J, which depicts a group of Catholic school boys in the 1950s secretly reading the risque Romeo and Juliet in their dorm room. The scene begins to parallel the play itself when a forbidden romance between two of the teenage boys unfolds.
- “Queen Mab” by Becca Stevens is a 2017 pop-folk song inspired by the Queen Mab speech.
- “Love Story” by Taylor Swift is a 2008 pop song that references the star-crossed lovers.
