Two members of Shakespeare on the Sound will discuss Romeo and Juliet at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 29, at Darien Library, two weeks before performances start on June 12 in Rowayton’s Pinkney Park.
— an announcement from Darien Library
“For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” ― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
It’s almost time for Shakespeare on the Sound, and you can prepare to see this year’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Watch and listen as this play comes to life at Darien Library, just in time for Shakespeare on the Sound’s 28th annual summer production in Rowayton’s Pinkney Park, June 12 through the June 30.
Learn the origins of the play, what Shakespeare intended and much more.
Shakespeare On the Sound’s Nick Urda and John Love will walk us through this unforgettable play. Until then, fill up on fun facts about the iconic work which was written in the 1590’s:
• Romeo and Juliet first meet on a Sunday evening. Four days later—on Wednesday evening—Romeo drinks poison and Juliet stabs herself. “Worst week ever,” as one Shakespearean scholar has put it.
• Dante first mentions the feud between the families in the early 1300’s.
• In 1662, Mary Saunderson made stage history as the first woman to play Juliet, 150 years after London audiences first saw Shakespeare’s play with a boy playing Juliet.
Learn the origins of the play, what Shakespeare intended and much more.
If You’re Going …
The presentation will take place from 7 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, May 29, in the Community Room at Darien Library.
You can register, here, to attend. As of Monday evening, May 20, there were 96 seats still available.
And by the Way …
You can buy tickets for the performances now. Learn more here, on the Shakespeare on the Sound website.
About The Presenters
Nick Urda is the Director of Educational Outreach for Shakespeare on the Sound. It is Nick’s fifth year with SOS’ educational department. Nick came to Shakespeare on the Sound as an actor in the educational program Speaking Daggers and has been seen on stage as Valentine in The Two Gentlemen of Verona and most recently Macduff in 2017’s production of Macbeth.
Recently, Nick co-directed the educational tour of R+J4EVR, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. He also directed last year’s tour of Shakespeare in 30 Minutes: Twelfth Night. As a performer, Nick has been acting professionally on stage and on screen for the past 14 years. Nick’s credits include Federico García Lorca in Olives and Blood (CT Rep) and the off Broadway premiere of The Preacher and The Shrink, as well as working with such companies as Northern Stage, Two River Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, D.C. and The Royal Shakespeare Company. He holds a BFA from Marymount Manhattan College as well as completing the fellowship with The Shakespeare Theatre Company, DC. He can be seen on film in Strawberry Flavored Plastic, which was recently released by Breaking Glass Pictures on May 7th, 2019.
John Love began studying Shakespeare as an English major at Brown University, and went on to earn a Ph.D in Renaissance literature at UNC-Chapel Hill. During his 40 years teaching English in secondary schools, he has taught a baker’s dozen of the plays of Shakespeare. Currently, he is president of the board of directors of Shakespeare on the Sound and lives in Rowayton.