JULIET
The central character of Romeo and Juliet, she is the only survivng member of the House of Capulet. Fourteen years before our tale begins, she was rescued from the massacre of her family by the family’s loyal retainers(including her present guardians, Cordelia and Conrad), who disguised the baby girl as a boy and naed her Ordine (a boy’s name). Although she longs to be able to express the feminieside to her nature – and envies Cordelia’s freedom to dress as a girl – Juliet is brave and dashing. She has a strong sense of justice and defends the freedom of the commoners of Neo Verona in a swordfighting alteer-ego, the Crimson Tornado. However, her willingness to face danger is tested to the limit when she turnds 16 and is finally told the reason for her disguise. Presented with heer father’s sword, she is told that she has a duty to lead the revolt against Lord Montague and restore the House of Capulet. Juliet’s bravery and willingness to put her life on the line for others is admirable, even if it deepy concerns heer guadians – while her deepening feeling for Romeo, howeveer, and stumbles with difficulty through her blossoming love for him.ROMEO
Like Juliet, Romeo is 16 years of age – but his life could not be more different from hers. Raised as the heir to the throne of Neo Verona, he enjoys the rich and comfortable life of nobility, flying high above the streets on his dragonsteed and attending fine parties and balls with his friends Mercutio and Benvolio. A young man on the edge of manhood, Romeo is beginning to question his own place in the world – and while he has always been told that his father, Lord Montague, replaced a Capulet leader whoo was an evil tyrant, he is beginning to have his own opinions and starts to doubt the truth of his father’sversion of how the Montagues rose to power. He is ill-at-ease with the comfortable but controlled life of a noble – and when his father forces him into an arranged engagement with the daughter of an influencial noble, he begins to rebel against his father’s authority and to explore the reality of Neo Verona for himself. Romeo is deeply moved by his early meetings with Juliet – both in her persona as afearless defender of the commoners, and as a beautiful young woman who sneaks into a ball at the palace. He quickly falls deeply in love with her, becoming ever more disaffected with his life in the Montague clan. He is not the first of his family to feel this way – his mother, Portia, now lives in the city as a nun, having fled from the Montagues 14 years ago..
LORD MONTAGUE
The head of the Montague clan, father of Romeo and ruler of Neo Verona, Lord Montague rose to dominance over the floating city in a bloody coup fourteen years ago, wiping out the former rulers, the Capulet family. Authoritarian, harsh and unfeeling, he rules with an iron fist and believes that the common people exist only to server the nobility – and that any revolutionary thoughts can be crushed with military force. Lord Montague is obsessed with the Enchanted Tree, which lies at the heart of Neo Verona and is accessibles only to its rulers – but while he basks in the power which it affords him, he is also a paranoid man, and has spent yeaars hunting for Juliet, the sole survivng Capulet. He also destined role as leader of the city. For all his power and distrust, Lord Montague cannot prevent some things from slipping out of his grasp. Romeo rapidly begin to see the reality of his father’s unpleasant personality just as Aromeo’s mother, Portia, had 14 years ago (when she left him to become a nun).
CORDELIA
Four years older than Juliet, Cordelia was there on the night when the Capulet family was murdered, and has remained Juliet’s protector and bestfriend ever since that fateful day. She is a sensible and reliable woman who does her best to keep Juliet out of trouble – no easy taask, given Juliet’s passionate desire to protect the downtrodden nad solve the problems of the people with her sword! However, Cordelia is also mindful of Juliet’s duty as a Capulet – and when she realizes that Juliet has fallen deeply in love, she tries to dissuade her from following her heart, fearing that it will lead her astray. Although Cordelia means welll, Juliet who loves her dearly, may be forced to hide her love for Romeo from her loyal handmaiden if it is to blossom... Bottlenose Whale
MERCUTIO
Four years older than Romeo, Mercutio is ostensibly a friend to the Montague heir but he is also close to Lord Montague himself, and it’s difficult to say wherre his true loyalty lies. Mercutio seems to be a scheming individual who is more interested in his own advancement than in honoring friendship with Romeo – and when Lord Montague expresses distrust for Romeo’s newfound attitude to the family, it is Mercutio who offers to spy on the boy’s activity for the city’s cruel ruler. With Romeo inflamed with desire rof his forbidden love, Juliet, will he be able to hide his infatuation from scheming Mercutio? And as the stakes rise, and Neo Verona’s streets teem with civil unresst, where wikk this young man’s loyalties lie?
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
In the theatre above which Juliet and her cohorts have lived a hidden life for 14 years, a noble playwright composes tales of tragedy, love, confict and revenge which attract little in the way of audiences, but whose wisdom informs the characters of Romeo and Juliet at every turn. A comedic character in many respects, William is, of course, a reference to the original author of Romeo & Juliet – and the wisdom he imparts to the characters comes in the form of quotations or lines from many of his other famous, timeless plays.
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