THIS EDITION INCLUDES: • An illuminating introduction to Romeo and Juliet by award-winning scholar Jonathan Bate• The play - with clear and authoritative explanatory notes on each page• A helpful scene-by-scene analysis and key facts about the play• An introduction to Shakespeare's career and the Elizabethan theatre• A rich exploration of approaches to staging the play featuring photographs of key productionsThe most enjoyable way to understand a Shakespeare play is to see it or participate in it. This unique edition presents a historical overview of Romeo and Juliet in performance, recommends film versions, takes a detailed look at specific productions and includes interviews with a leading director and two actors – Michael Attenborough, David Tennant and Alexandra Gilbreath – so that we may get a sense of the extraordinary variety of interpretations that are possible, a variety that gives Shakespeare his unique capacity to be reinvented and made 'our contemporary' four centuries after his death. Ideal for students, theatre-goers, actors and general readers, the RSC Shakespeare editions offer an accessible and contemporary approach to reading and rediscovering Shakespeare's works for the twenty-first century.