ROMANA & JULIET
romana & Juliet
Illustration scenography and costumes by Silje Sivertsen
The story is timeless and eternal. The blood feud between humans and through generations is historically repeated again and again. Where humanity and love always lose. Romeo is replaced with Romana. The story has gained another dimension - the love between two women.
The play takes place in an unknown time. The inspiration is drawn from various cultures and epochs. The colours are warm and powdery. Rustic fabrics, tactile, wavy, and sculptural. I imagine an urban community on the edge of a desert, a close-knit society where belonging has been necessary for survival. A community where the signals that clothing sends out about alliances and social rank are important.
The scene is built around an amphitheatre with several rooms, both secret and open. With concrete, slate, and raw surfaces, with wind chimes of ceramics inspired by Buddhist temples. The amphitheatre represents the most central public space in this community, a space where the society's values and customs are regularly dramatized through rituals of both celebration and punishment. But in this space, there are also secret and private rooms linked to power and privileges.
The story is timeless and eternal. The blood feud between humans and through generations is historically repeated again and again. Where humanity and love always lose. Romeo is replaced with Romana. The story has gained another dimension - the love between two women.
The play takes place in an unknown time. The inspiration is drawn from various cultures and epochs. The colours are warm and powdery. Rustic fabrics, tactile, wavy, and sculptural. I imagine an urban community on the edge of a desert, a close-knit society where belonging has been necessary for survival. A community where the signals that clothing sends out about alliances and social rank are important.
The scene is built around an amphitheatre with several rooms, both secret and open. With concrete, slate, and raw surfaces, with wind chimes of ceramics inspired by Buddhist temples. The amphitheatre represents the most central public space in this community, a space where the society's values and customs are regularly dramatized through rituals of both celebration and punishment. But in this space, there are also secret and private rooms linked to power and privileges.
Illustration by Silje Sivertsen
COSTUMES
COLOUR USE: It is a proven use of colour and materials where we confirm the difference between the two clans, and Romana and Julie "lose" their costumes throughout the story, standing again naked and deprived of both themselves, their belonging, and love. Differences that seemingly express inequality between values and attitudes, but which perhaps both share attitudes of superiority, polarization, and prejudice.
COSTUMES: Costumes can express both the layers of belonging and groupings that can be found in a society, but also individual personality and how the individual deviates or reinterprets norms. In the encounter with the idea behind a theatre piece and the team that interprets the piece, I wish to draw out essential aspects of the story through costumes, as well as to create a compelling world that enhances the audience's immersion. In Romana and Julie, I seek to create a new world through references to global trends in clothing history.
COSTUMES: Costumes can express both the layers of belonging and groupings that can be found in a society, but also individual personality and how the individual deviates or reinterprets norms. In the encounter with the idea behind a theatre piece and the team that interprets the piece, I wish to draw out essential aspects of the story through costumes, as well as to create a compelling world that enhances the audience's immersion. In Romana and Julie, I seek to create a new world through references to global trends in clothing history.