Romeo Montague

Romeo Montague was one of the two titular characters in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.

One publication noted it was generally agreed that Romeo and Juliet had taken its main inspiration from Arthur Brook's poem The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet. The play, as reproduced in Quarto and Folio, closely followed the narrative of the poem, using a similar character name for Romeo and giving him the same fate. In this version, Romeo chose to poison himself when he discovered his love Juliet in a state of apparent death, with Juliet also choosing to end her own life after awaking to find that Romeo had died. (PROSE: The True and Most Excellent Comedie of Romeo and Juliet)

However, several more light-hearted versions of the play were proposed and subsequently written, (PROSE: Swamp of Horrors (1957) - Viewing Notes, The Smallest Spark) one by Shakespeare himself. Under pressure from James Burbage to "make dark tragedie light", he wrote "the story as it did truly unfold, by misfortune unmarred". It featured characters based upon the Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams, and ended with the couple "set to wed". (PROSE: The True and Most Excellent Comedie of Romeo and Juliet) In the City of the Saved, a version of the play featuring a wedding scene for the title characters in Act VI was one of BardCorp's earliest hits. (PROSE: The Smallest Spark) Adrian Cooper, an actor who refused to allow any character he played show weakness, starred in a 1953 film adaptation of the play and demanded rewrites which resulted in the survival of both Romeo and Juliet. (PROSE: Swamp of Horrors (1957) - Viewing Notes)

Henry Gordon Jago auditioned for the role of Romeo at the Alhambra Theatre in 1866. (AUDIO: The Year of the Bat)

Shakespeare's comedy
At some point in the play, Romeo married Juliet. He had also slain both Tybalt and someone he believed to be Sir Paris. Before Juliet took her sleeping draught, she had Friar Laurence send a letter to Mantua for Romeo so he knew that she was not really dead. He never received this, however, with the news reaching him from Verona instead concerning her sudden death.

Juliet's demise motivated Romeo to purchase a vial of poison from an apothecary, which he did in Act V Scene I. The Doctor, Amy and Rory, who sought to inform him of Juliet's continued existence and stop him from buying the vial, arrived seconds too late and missed the opportunity to speak with him. After some negotiation (which involved the exchange of gold) the apothecary revealed to the Doctor and his friends that Romeo was headed to the Capulet tomb to lie with his dead love.

The trio caught up with Romeo during Act V Scene III just as he was about to drink the poison and end his life. They were able to stop him from taking a sip from the vial, partly due to the distraction caused by the sudden appearance of the TARDIS in the tomb. He asked who they were and what the blue box was but Amy deflected by promising to "explain that later on". Rory was the one to fully convince Romeo to stop on his present course after asking him to consider what Juliet would do "in such a state of discontent" if she awoke to find him dead, with Amy bluntly suggesting that "she would do something rash like take [his] dagger and do herself in". The Doctor told him Juliet would "soon stir" and she roused from her sleep when Romeo kissed her, on advice from Amy. After a short reunion, Juliet suggested they "flee this place and start a life far from Verona's walls. The Doctor vetoed this idea, however, telling them they had to help heal the rift between their two feuding families. He further elaborated that their deaths would have shown them "hate's consequence and [taught] them both to end their harsh discord and emnity". Romeo expressed his belief that such a reconciliation was now "impossible" but Amy revealed they had a "cunning plan" and proceeded to unveil a second Romeo and Juliet, actually a Sontaran clone and "a borrow'd Teselecta" respectively. The two doubles took up their positions as if they had been killed and the Doctor ushered everyone into the TARDIS where they remained out of sight until the bodies were discovered.

After Romeo and Juliet's fathers, Montague and Capulet respectively, saw their children's bodies laying together, they healed their rift. All five of those concealed in the TARDIS then emerged, Romeo confirming "we are the true, those corpses are not us". Romeo's father embraced him and he and Juliet joined hands. Although happiness was in the air, Romeo regretted the deaths of Tybalt and Paris by his sword was "still a blemish on [their] joy" and he consequently asked to be banished from Verona, his only request being that Juliet go unpunished for his crimes. To everyone's surprise, however, the Doctor then revealed that Tybalt and Paris lived as well, their places also having been taken by doubles. Celebration ensued and the Doctor closed the play, stating that though it was often said "no tale could hope to overset the love of Romeo for Juliet, never was there a more joyful story than that of Amy Pond and her dear Rory". (PROSE: The True and Most Excellent Comedie of Romeo and Juliet)

Shakespeare's tragedy
With the Doctor, Amy, and Rory absent for the version as performed, the play became a tragedy instead of an "out-and-out comedy". They were not present in the Capulet tomb to dissuade Romeo from poisoning himself which meant he was successful in ending his own life. This resulted in Juliet awaking from her slumber to find him dead and using Romeo's dagger to also commit suicide in response to this revelation. This also meant the excision of the twist involving the survivals of Tybalt and Paris, with the only logical conclusion being that Romeo did slay the definite articles in this rendition of the play.

As referenced in the alternative draft, their deaths taught Montague and Capulet the consequences of their hate towards one another, leading to peace in Verona. (PROSE: The True and Most Excellent Comedie of Romeo and Juliet)

On 17 January 1605, the real Amy Pond and Rory Williams went to see a performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theatre as part of their honeymoon. In a postcard to the Eleventh Doctor, Amy described it as "v. romantic (even though London theatre audiences stink and the play ends with loads of death)". (PROSE: Honeymoon Horrors)

Lucie Miller compared Kalkin and Sararti to Romeo and Juliet. When Tayden asked if that was good, Lucie replied "Er - actually, no, come to think of it". (AUDIO: Immortal Beloved)

Happier adaptations
David Owen's 1953 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet starred Adrian Cooper as the lead. Cooper refused to allow any character he played to show weakness which resulted in him demanding script rewrites. This ensured that he "not only lived, but ended up getting the girl". (PROSE: Swamp of Horrors (1957) - Viewing Notes)

In the early days of the City of the Saved, the news was full of romantic stories about couples tearfully reunited after death and resuming their lost relationships. BardCorp's Romeo and Juliet, one of their first hits, was edited to fit this theme, with a wedding scene for Romeo and Juliet part of a newly-added Act VI. Francis Bacon claimed to have been the actual writer of Mercutio's "famously bawdy" best man's speech. (PROSE: The Smallest Spark)