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Grappling with the subtleties of Shakespeare’s poetry and prose has proved a challenge for many a theatre company but a novel linguistic challenge has been added into the mix in a new production of Romeo and Juliet.
A Welsh-English bilingual version of the tragedy, called Romeo a Juliet, is about to set off on tour, ending at Shakespeare’s Globe in London – believed to be the first time Cymraeg (the Welsh language) will have been heard at the venue on the South Bank.
Aptly, the feuding families at the centre of the drama are divided in this retelling by language, with the Capulets speaking English and the Montagues Cymraeg. It means the way the lovers communicate and grow to understand each other is all the more charged.
Isabella Colby Browne, who plays Juliet, said she hoped viewers would all get lots out of it, no matter their first language. “It’s so special to see a bilingual show celebrating this beautiful Celtic language. I hope everybody finds something to enjoy in it,” she said.
At first in this reimagining, Juliet speaks only in English. “But it’s almost as if every time she connects with Romeo, embraces him or they kiss, she becomes more and more Welsh,” Colby Browne said. “By the end of the show, Juliet is thinking, breathing, living in Welsh.”
The balcony scene features a mix of English and Welsh. “We jump back and forth and it’s like a negotiation,” Colby Browne said. “The scene is so wonderful – they’re trying to work each other out and confess their love. The language adds a whole new level.”
Remarkably, Colby Browne is a Welsh learner rather than a native speaker. “I’m proud to be a learner,” she said. She asks colleagues to tell her if any of her language needs to be corrected. “If there’s anything that’s a tiny bit off, I ask them to please tell me.”
Romeo is played by Steffan Cennydd, whose first language is Cymraeg. He said it had been a joy to mine the text to find ways of making the bilingualism of this Theatr Cymru show help tell the story.
He said Juliet’s line “Speakest thou from the heart?” seemed to have even more depth in this incarnation. Juliet says the line in Welsh: “Ai dyna iaith dy galon?”, which translates literally as “Is that your heart’s language?”, subtly different to the original.
Cennydd said it was important to spread the word about Cymraeg outside Wales. “A bilingual production is a brilliant opportunity to show our culture to the rest of the world. Even within the UK, there are parts that wouldn’t know that we have such a healthy language and that we live and work within it,” he said.
The director, Steffan Donnelly, said he felt it was a significant milestone for the Welsh language. He said the company was lucky there was a “masterful” Welsh translation of Romeo and Juliet by JT Jones from 1983.
“It is very true to the original, keeping the metre and the rhyming scheme the same, and is also a slightly more ancient-sounding Welsh, so actually the Shakespearean texts and the Welsh texts match each other,” he said.
The cast features native speakers from across Wales and learners. “The rehearsal room is a cauldron of accents and different types of speakers,” Donnelly said.
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There is an increased interest in Welsh-English bilingual productions, with the TV thriller Y Gwyll (Hinterland) winning plaudits around the globe.
Donnelly said: “I think at the moment in the UK we’re figuring out who we are as the world is crumbling all around us. Looking at an indigenous language like Welsh is a portal to allow people to unpick a bit more about where we are as a nation.
“If we want the Welsh language to survive, we have to welcome people to the language.”
English schools are booked in to see the production. “They’ll get a taste of the Welsh language,” Donnelly said. There will be captions to help non-Welsh speakers and for audience members who have hearing issues.
Heading to London feels important to Theatr Cymru. “Maybe some people coming to watch won’t even know the Welsh language exists – lots of tourists go to the Globe,” Donnolly said. “We might have people who go back to South Korea, Canada or wherever saying that they heard this other language that’s been around for thousands of years. I think it’s a moment for the Welsh language.”
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Romeo a Juliet opens at the Sherman theatre in Cardiff on 29 September and will tour venues across Wales before its run at the Globe. It will be performed at the Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse from 5-8 November.
