Romeo & Juliet: The Confessions

fff gfgjghm hhjngh profile

Project by fff gfgjghm hhjngh

Total raised £330

raised so far

5

supporters

Help us bring the latest in our long line of bold and intriguing new Theatre, to both stage and online audiences.

We're still collecting donations

On the 22nd July 2021 we'd raised £330 with 5 supporters in 41 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.

1620283028_1620283020607.png

For the last 12 months we have been workshopping and developing a new play, Romeo & Juliet: The Confessions. For us this is especially exciting; not only is it the latest in a long line of works to re-energise Shakespeare's plays, it;s also the start of a whole new approach our work will now be taking:

  • looking directly into Shakespeare through the words and thoughts of his individual characters
  • bringing our focus firmly into the dysphoria of the times we live in - disconnection, anxiety, disengagement, alienation, poor self-identity - to see how all of us can better understand what it is that's happening   
  • launching our 'Taking Our Theatre out of The Theatre' - a process to transform stage performance into a digital experience, and to create a full cycle of stage performance, solo/combo plays, podcast episodes, audio pieces, filmed stage performances, audiobooks, and printed books.

With your help, we can kickstart this new direction by getting Romeo& Juliet: The Confessions into stage performance - this is what this shout-out is all about. 

Your pledges will help pay the necessary expenses for taking the play to two Fringe Theatre Festivals, in Birmingham and Buxton:

  • actors' fees, travel expenses, music composer fee, stage manager, filming costs, set/costumes/props etc.
  • the cost of filming the performances to start our 'Taking Our Theatre out of Theatre' initiative.

We have great plans for bringing our 'Take Our Theatre out of The Theatre' initiative into the digital arena, so any extra funds raised will be used to continue the play's development into the world of audio, video, and print.

1620283028_1620283020648.png

Romeo & Juliet: The Confessions

Ever fundamentally wondered why, considered what might also have happened, or thought . . . what really did take place in Verona?

Join us to hear the real voices of The Friar, The Nurse, & Juliet, using the words of Shakespeare/Bramwell . . . and your imagination.

This is the story of Romeo & Juliet, the play written by William Shakespeare - but not as told by him. These are the confessions of The Friar, The Nurse, & Juliet - as told by themselves. Their stories, after 400 years, can now be finally told;  a gripping, unfolding, piece of immersive theatre. 

As with all our plays, in this latest piece, we seek out alternative ways of presenting and re-energising Shakespeare. In our early research into the original Shakespeare play it became clear that it was far more than just a story about the doomed lovers Romeo and Juliet.  The more we looked, the more the play seemed to be far more than how it has been traditionally portrayed over the centuries. Alarmingly so.

What began to speak to us were the voices of the two supporters of the lovers - the Friar and the Nurse. As we delved into their stories, we became fascinated with them - and the gaps and contradictions contained within them. We also explored what was really going on in the mind of the 13-year-old girl Juliet. An innocent victim, a feisty young woman, a romantic role model? Or all these things, and maybe more?

And through their words, those silenced voices talk loud and clear to us, shedding some light on the world all around us.

This promises to be an insightful and engaging new piece of writing, presented by Alex Nikitas as the Friar, Gerry Johnson as the Nurse, and Vicky Holding as Juliet.

1620283029_1620283020718.png

A few facts & figures... 

  •  inamoment theatre has been around since 2003, to date it has staged 25 productions, all of which are new pieces of Theatre.
  • Professionally produced, our Theatre has been seen in Birmingham, London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bath, Oldham, Bristol, and Buxton.
  • Over the years we have been recognised for the quality and originality of our plays: 

King Lear (alone) GM Fringe 2018: Nominated for the Best Adaptation Award,       GM Fringe 2018: Nominated for the Best Spoken Word Award.

1620663262_dsc00072.jpg

Cordelia/Fool Birmingham Fest 2018: Best Adaptation

1620663824_cordelia_0888_v2.jpg

Romeo & Juliet For All Time Buxton Fringe 2004: Nominated for the Best Writing award, Edinburgh Fringe 2004: Winner of the Hairline Highlight award (given to the top plays that are head and shoulders above others reviewers have seen)

1620664001_cnv00029.jpg

Our work is hosted over 3 websites - please click  to see more details: www.thealternativespace.org ¦ www.alternativetheatre.org ¦  www.alternativeshakespeare.org

1620283028_1620283020568.png

Maybe like most of us, I seem to have spent the best part of my life trying to fit in, to find out just who I am. And this ultimately has led to wondering what it, life, is all about. Always there's been endless questions, but precious few answers; and along the way, plenty of dead ends, sidetracks and, it has to be said, enormous frustrations.

At the turn of the Millennium, I got to thinking about Shakespeare . . . what is it about Shakespeare? Why are we so attracted to him? And why is it we can't seem to move on from him . . .

But the more I read about his work, the more I went to see it being performed, the more disenchanted I became. So in 2001, I started on a new journey, to try to understand what Shakespeare's true legacy really is to us? And, as a by-the-way, just what really went on in that head of his?

That part of the journey kickstarted when I wrote my first play, Time After Time/Shakespeare's Dream, where characters from his actual life, and his plays, come to stir and trouble his mind. That single play has to date spawned eleven AlternativeShakespeare re-workings, including Romeo & Juliet for All Time, King Lear (alone), and Cordelia/Fool, all of which have won awards in Fringe Festivals in Edinburgh, Manchester, and Birmingham.

Twenty years later, our journey of trying to answer our original questions keeps re-inventing itself. Now, in 2021, we seek to delve into the mind of Shakespeare himself, through the thoughts and words of individual characters from his plays; we get to hear them tell their stories, their takes, and their feelings. . . from their point of view.

To date it's been an incredible, never-ending journey; it would be good to have you onboard that journey. Many people have unstintingly helped along the way - actors, directors, designers, dramaturgs, Theatre professionals, friends, family - and now we want everyone to have a chance to be part of it.

1620317805_kickstarter_01_why_we_need_you_01.png

Because you share the same value systems as ourselves... 

  • You want to support Theatre that is alternative and bold but which nevertheless works within the classical tradition
  • You believe in the incredible healing power Theatre has to offer us all.
  • You want to understand why things are as they are, and whether there are alternatives . . . 

You think the time is right to fully realise an AlternativeShakespeare... 

  • You want to be part of our continuing journey to re-energise Shakespeare's works so their energy can be harnessed and then released  
  • You see Shakespeare is a living tradition for current and future generations, but you also want something right here and now 
  • You're drawn to all the good things Shakspeare gave us but also want something new and different.

You want to support us on our journey of discovery...

  • You think the quality and vision of our work deserves to be supported 
  • You like what we're doing and want to help spread the word 
  • You want to be a key part of what we do.

1620317293_kickstarter_01_selected_quotes.png

King Lear (alone)

"I thoroughly enjoyed King Lear (alone). It’s great play, made even better by Young’s strong work in bringing this version of Lear to life. Like all good literary reimaginings, it has made me reconsider the original and has changed the way I look at King Lear. I would highly recommend it."

"This was a thoroughly satisfying and thought-provoking reworking of a familiar play."

"While condensing a three-hour tragedy with 27 characters into an hour long one-man show may seem to be an impossibility, Writer-Director Frank Bramwell and performer Bob Young prove themselves to be more than up the task with this enlightening take on Shakespeare’s classic. "

"A magnificent, strong piece of high art theatre playing nicely with Shakespeare’s King Lear."

Cordelia/Fool

“A very well ‘engineered’ approach to incorporating a critique of King Lear. Very intelligently conceived, very naturally and professionally delivered.”

Tempest fugit:Prospero’s Will

". . . when it comes to Shakespeare "re-written" I get very sceptical. But I was proven wrong as inamoment theatre pulled out all the stops and the audience was treated to a delicious journey through Prospero's messed-up mind."

Macbeth Killing Time

“Frank Bramwell's play, however, is that very rare bird, a genuinely unusual take on the play, which remains true to the spirit (and the words) of the original whilst making us question our assumptions about it.”

Romeo & Juliet For All Time

“R and J For All Time is an intriguing work created around a simple conceit (simple conceits are the best.)”

“It’s very rare for our staff to be so united in their glowing praise of a Fringe Show – but all those who saw it were stunned, and everyone unable to make it this time was very disappointed to have missed out.”

“James, the venue manager,  … genuinely rated your show among the top six Fringe shows he has seen in his decade working at the Festival.”

If you would like to see review quotes of all our plays, please click here.

1620664486_crowdfunder_risks_&_challenges_web_01.pngRisks 

Every stage production comes with its risks, many of which can happen despite the most thorough planning. Our approach has always been to work to our 'bottom line' - what is the minimum requirements to make a play happen on stage. Once we've identified these, and taken the necessary steps to ensure these will be available when required, we are happy to push the go button. 

Challenges 

The challenges here are, as ever . . . 

doing justice to the play: 

  • actors are involved from day 1 with the creation of their character parts 
  • thoroughly research the original play in Zoom workshops 
  • ask our 'alternative' questions to tease and test what we are creating. 

meeting people's expectations:

  • our inter-cutting monologues format creates the gaps for the audience to work their imagination 
  • the solo performances of the actors add up to make a powerful emotional impact 
  • the satisfying feeling of having seen a thoughtful, well-constructed play delivered with style and passion.

1620837273_crowdfunder_01_our_supporters_01.png

Our Supporters help to make the unthinkable doable, providing financial support for our new work to be developed and made available.

We value our supporters; without our followers, backers, patrons, we could not do what we do. And they are vital for sharing our work with the wide world.

More than that, ultimately they are why we do what we do:

  • Sharing our journey, being part of the experience
  • Being there for us as our supporters and friends.
  • Responding to our Crowdfunding appeals.

We have a range of people who support us:

PATRONS - Supporting the Company. Partners who share our vision and are behind us all the way.

PRODUCTION FUNDERS - Enabling our productions, making our work possible, backers who are excited by our work.

ENTHUSIASTS - Helping us along the way, just wanting to help, pleased to be part of something exciting and different.

WELL WISHERS - Wishing us well, liking what we do, enjoying our work.

1620322308_kickstarter_01_web_our_thanks.png

To all our collaborators and supporters who have been with us over the years...

To everyone who will support this our latest call-out...

To those who will continue to be there with us on our journey...

Become a fundraiser

Want to raise funds for this cause? It's simple to get started.

Start fundraising

Or enter custom amount

Rewards

This project offered rewards

£10 or more

WELL WISHERS - liking what we do

We want to thank you for wishing us well, liking what we do, or possibly enjoying our work. Not only do you have our thanks but also we would like to show this by giving you a special mention in the Programme, as well as a permanent listing on Supporters Web Page (optional).

£25 or more

ENTHUSIASTS - helping us along the way

Making this pledge will help to finance the filming of the play performances, which means we will be able to kickstart our digital 'Getting Our Theatre Out of the Theatre' initiative. To show our appreciation, we would like to offer all our Enthusiasts... All of the above reward PLUS...photo, signed by the Team...Poster, signed by the Team...Programme signed by the Team...Regular Project updates

£75 or more

FOLLOWERS - being part of something exciting

We enjoy having a real relationship with our Followers, people who want to be part of the project and to share in the excitement. By following us, you will help swell the audience of our work, and create a community that wants to grow together. We would like to thank our followers...All of the above PLUS...2 Tickets to see any Performance (+ meet the Crew)...Taking part in a special Podcast episode...A totally unique 'TheAlternativeSpace' Mug

£250 or more

PROJECT FUNDERS - making our work possible

Without our Project Funders we would not be able to make our work happen. These are people who back our work, are excited by what we do, and are keen that our endeavours will be available around the world. All this makes our work real, as well as giving us a tremendous lift. By way of thanks, we would like to offer our Project Funders...All of the above PLUS...An Audio recording download of the play...A Video recording download of the play

£500 or more

PATRONS - partners who share our vision

Our Patrons are special people, Partners who are behind us all the way, holding a torch for others to see. Having Patrons on board allows us to plan our work into the future, and reach out to people across the world. For their invaluable contribution, we would like to offer...All of the above PLUS...A dedication in the published Script...A dedication in the published story of the Project...Taking part in a special Zoom session with the Writer

Payment and personal details are protected