The Business
Director Simon Godwin on ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ now streaming on PBS
When the pandemic hit London, director Simon Godwin's National Theatre production of “Romeo & Juliet” shut down before it could open.
By Kim Masters • • 28m ListenWhen the pandemic hit London, director Simon Godwin's National Theatre production of “Romeo & Juliet” shut down before it could open. So Godwin shot the play as a movie — never mind that he had never even picked up a camera and couldn’t film outside the theater.
“There would be no locations, there would be no trips to Italy, there would be no even natural light,” Godwin says. “And yet, I remembered a phrase from the Stoics, who had the motto: The obstacle is the way.”
Even without a trip to fair verona, Godwin shot his movie, starring Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley, in a mere 17 days.
Godwin’s version of “Romeo & Juliet” is now streaming through May 21 as a part of PBS’s Great Performances series.
He explains why he thinks the Bard would love the movies — and approve of taking some creative liberties — including giving Lord Capulet’s lines to Lady Capulet.
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Read the story8 minTo direct ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ Simon Godwin embraced the motto ‘the obstacle is the way’
When the pandemic hit London, director Simon Godwin's National Theatre production of “Romeo & Juliet” shut down. So he shot the play as a movie, though he never picked up a camera before.
Read the story20 min
