"In the space of four weeks, 20 non-actors from the tough, predominantly Afro-Caribbean north-west London neighbourhood of Harlesden get together to put on a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London's West End. Through satellite link, acclaimed Australian film director Baz Luhrmann helps to inspire and encourage the cast and novice director - highly respected, British stage and screen actor Paterson Joseph - as they examine the text and gear up for the live night." - TV Today

Production Notes

Paterson Joseph's production of Romeo and Juliet was performed at the RADA Theatre, London, around 25 April 2004. My Shakespeare is a Shine Limited production in association with Penguin Television for PBS and Channel 4.

Director - Paterson Joseph
Assistant Director - Bindu de Stoppani
Romeo - Jonathan Taylor - 22 years old, Part Time Youth Worker
Juliet - Muska Khpal - 18 years old, Came from Afghanistan in 1996, Science Student 
Benvolio - Shaun Wilkins - 20 years old, Student
Mercutio - Mustafa Iman - 17 years old, Somali Refugee, Student
Tybalt - Adrian Sheward - 19 years old, Student
The Nurse - Karen Wilson - Mother of two
Abraham/Apothecary - Christina Emmanuel - 17 years old, Student
Peter/Chorus - Peter Yamoah Kyei - 18 years old, Student

Viewing Details

My Shakespeare premiered on British television on 27 December 2004 on Channel 4. As far as I know, the UK premiere of My Shakespeare was the first and only screening of this programme at the time. A couple of days after the UK screening, I e-mailed Channel 4 and asked them 1) if it will be repeated on British television, 2) if it will be shown outside of the UK and, if so, when and where, 3) if it will be released on DVD, and 4) is a full recording of the performance of Romeo and Juliet available?

On 21 January 2005, I received a reply from Viewer Enquiries, which read as follows: "There are no plans to repeat this programme at present, I am afraid. We do not know yet, if it will be released on DVD. There is no recording available of the actors performance of Romeo and Juliet."

In May 2005, a friend of Muska kindly contacted me and confirmed the following: "I am a friend of Muska Khpal (who played Juliet) and I can confirm that even for the actors involved there is no recording of the performance available. It is not clear that any complete recording was ever made. She did tell me that My Shakespeare was supposed to be shown on some PBS stations in the USA but I was in the states at the time it was screened in the UK and saw nothing."

My Shakespeare finally remiered in the US on 1 January 2006. Interestingly, the programme was renamed My Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet With Baz Luhrmann.

Click on the menu on the right hand side of this page for my review of the entire programme, and also to read 'Baz Luhrmann - The Mentor'.