Romi O Juli

Let us imagine that William Shakespeare’s immortal text Romeo and Juliet is being taught at a premier educational institution in the city. The lesson is being taught by two professors. Love blossoms between them. Traditional rigid and puritanical Brahmin blood courses through the veins of the woman. Her lover belongs to a schedule caste and that makes her fear his love.

And in the class that they teach belong Romi and Juli. They live near each other but like the enmity that was present between the Montagues and the Capulets in the original play, the families of Romi and Juli are engaged in a longstanding feud. Unreal and real merge while the play is being taught in class.  Romi and Romeo become one, Juli becomes Juliet. Friar Lawrence is the local marriage registrar. We travel in and out of the play, Romi and Julis story takes a different turn but retains the structure and essence of the Bard himself.

Death inevitably immortalizes romance. The two professors choose to end their lives rather than accept the fact that being together is not an option for them. But as is usual, time does not stand still. And the language of life starts speaking from among the debris of dead bodies. They live and act out the death scenes to prove that love is the answer to hatred.

Romi O Juli is a testament of our present times which follows the original text and its journey. At the same time our voices reverberate along with the original play and create a unique experience.