IN CURRENT REPERTORY TIMING: Act 1 - 61:00
Act 2 - 35:00
Act 3 - 40:00
ROMEO AND JULIET
Ballet in Three Acts
Choreography by Kenneth MacMillan
Music by Sergei Prokofiev
Scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis
Lighting by Thomas Skelton
Act I, Scene 1 - The Market place - The scene is Verona. Romeo, son of Montague, tries unsuccessfully
to declare his love for Rosaline and is consoled by his friends Mercutio and Benvolio. As day breaks the
townspeople meet in the market place, a quarrel develops between Tybalt, a nephew of Capulet, and Romeo
and his friends. The Capulets and Montagues are sworn enemies and a fight soon begins. The Lords
Montague and Capulet join in the fray, which is stopped by the appearance of the Prince of Verona who
commands the families to end their feud.
Scene 2 - Juliet’s ante-room in the Capulets’ house - Juliet, playing with her nurse, is interrupted by her
parents Lord and Lady Capulet. They present her to Paris, a wealthy young nobleman who has asked for
her hand in marriage.
Scene 3 - Outside the Capulet’s house - Guests arrive for a ball at the Capulets’ house. Romeo, Mercutio
and Benvolio, disguised in masks, decide to go in pursuit of Rosaline.
Scene 4 - The ballroom - Romeo and his friends arrive at the height of the festivities. The guests watch
Juliet dance. Mercutio, seeing Romeo is entranced by her, dances to distract attention from him. Tybalt
recognizes Romeo and orders him to leave, but Capulet intervenes and welcomes him as a guest in his
house.
Scene 5 - Outside the Capulets’ house - As the guests leave the ball Capulet restrains Tybalt from
pursuing Romeo.
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ROMEO AND JULIET – Page 2
Scene 6 - Juliet’s balcony - Unable to sleep, Juliet comes out on to her balcony and is thinking of Romeo,
when suddenly he appears in the garden. They confess their love for each other.
Act II, Scene 1 - The Market place - Romeo can think only of Juliet, and as a wedding procession passes,
he dreams of the day when he will marry her. In the meantime Juliet’s nurse pushes her way through the
crowds in search of Romeo to give him a letter from Juliet. He reads that Juliet has consented to be his wife.
Scene 2 - The chapel - The lovers are secretly married by Friar Laurence who hopes that their union will
end the strife between the Montagues and the Capulets.
Scene 3 - The market place - Interrupting the revelry, Tybalt fights with Mercutio and kills him. Romeo
avenges the death of his friend and is exiled.
.
Act III, Scene 1 - The bedroom - At dawn next morning the household is stirring and Romeo must go. He
embraces Juliet and leaves as her parents enter with Paris. Juliet refuses to marry Paris, and hurt by her
rebuff, he leaves. Juliet’s parents are angry and threaten to disown her. Juliet rushes to see Friar Laurence.
Scene 2 - The chapel - She falls at the Friar’s feet and begs for his help. He gives her a phial of sleeping
potion which will make her fall into a death-like sleep. Her parents, believing her dead, will bury her in the
family tomb. Meanwhile Romeo, warned by Friar Laurence, will return under cover of darkness and take
her away from Verona.
Scene 3 - The bedroom - That evening Juliet agrees to marry Paris, but next morning, where her parents
arrive with him they find her apparently lifeless on the bed.
Scene 4 - The Capulet family crypt - Romeo, failing to receive the Friar’s message, returns to Verona
stunned by grief at the news of Juliet's death. Disguised as a monk he enters the crypt, and finding Paris by
Juliet’s body, kills him. Believing Juliet to be dead, Romeo drinks a phial of poison. Juliet awakes and,
finding Romeo dead, stabs herself.
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ROMEO AND JULIET - Page 3
Romeo and Juliet received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden, London on February 9, 1965, danced by Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.
Romeo and Juliet was given its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere in Washington,
D. C. at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on January 3, 1985, danced by Leslie Browne and
Robert La Fosse.
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