Texas State opens the spring 2025 semester with a production of Romeo and Juliet that takes place in a nearby future.
Director Kathleen McDowell changed the setting of the show so audiences could view the story in a fresh new way. She said a specific historical setting would have boxed in both the audience and the team, but a nondescript future left room to experiment.
“The aesthetic is not like puffy sleeves and corsets, it’s just a little bit strange,” McDowell said. “It looks kind of like a punk rock Dune future. It allows [the text] to stay heightened and universal while not letting people come in with preconceived notions.”
McDowell has one big question she’s exploring: “What are the consequences of the future being sacrificed for the sake of the present?” A future that failed its youth is painted all over the show. Max Estudillo-Cantu, set designer, took inspiration from brutalism and the real-life frescoes of Verona, Italy to emphasize this idea.
“If I can create a world where it’s uncomfortable, and they find comfort within themselves, that’s perfect because then we’re going to care for these kids,” Estudillo-Cantu said. “It’s a lot more tragic for us to process because they really tried, even in a world that they’re not set up to succeed in.”
McDowell said she also removed the swords and replaced them with hand-to-hand combat to draw out the violence in the text.
“I don’t know what’s more violent and raw than people just bashing each other’s faces in with their bare hands,” McDowell said. “[It’s] pretty brutal, but I think it helps us tell the story stronger. We see sword fighting as this kind of antiquated, polite way of fighting, and it’s not what’s happening in this show.”
The actors worked hard to make this version of the play unique. Faraz Mobli, acting sophomore, plays Romeo. He wanted to create an entirely original version of Romeo from scratch, so he avoided watching any other portrayal of the story except for one.
“The first theatre production I even was relatively a part of was Romeo and Juliet, and I was Romeo’s understudy in sixth grade,” Mobli said. “Having that happen, having that full circle moment has been pretty crazy, and I’m pretty lucky.”
Despite all of the changes, the main goal of the production isn’t just to be different but to tell the story. Nyah Adler, performance and production junior, plays Juliet. She believes the play is about “what hate and violence can do to pure, innocent love.”
“It’s sweet and endearing and you would think that everyone would be on their side,” Adler said. “But because of the world that they’re living in, these two young people can never be together. Star-crossed lovers – they’re doomed from the beginning.”
Texas State University’s production of Romeo & Juliet will be performed at the Patti Strickel Harrison Theatre on Feb. 4-8 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 9 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at txstatepresents.universitytickets.com.
