Rosaline - Performances

Performances

Rosaline has been portrayed in various ways over the centuries. Theophilus Cibber's 1748 version of Romeo and Juliet replaced references to Rosaline with references to Juliet. This, according to critics, took out the "love at first sight" moment at the Capulet feast. In the 1750s, actor and theatre director David Garrick also eliminated references to Rosaline from his performances, as many saw Romeo's quick replacement of her as immoral. However, in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo sees Rosaline (played by Paola Tedesco (it)) first at the Capulet feast and then Juliet, of whom he becomes immediately enamored. This scene suggests that love is short and superficial. Rosaline also appears in Renato Castellani's 1954 film version. In a brief non-Shakespearean scene, Rosaline (Dagmar Josipovitch) gives Romeo a mask at Capulet's celebration, and urges him to leave disguised before harm comes to him. Other filmmakers keep Rosaline off-camera in stricter accordance with Shakespeare's script. Robert Nathan's 1966 romantic comedy, Juliet in Mantua, presents Rosaline as a fully developed character. In this sequel, in which Romeo and Juliet did not die, the pair live ten years later in exile in Mantua. When Rosaline shows up in Mantua with her husband County Paris, both couples must confront their disillusionment with their marriages. Another play, After Juliet, written by Scottish playwright Sharman Macdonald, tells the story of Rosaline after Romeo dies. A main character in this play, she struggles with her loss and turns away the advances of Benvolio, who has fallen in love with her. Keira Knightley played her role in the play's 1999 premiere. The 2012 young adult novel "When You Were Mine" by Rebecca Serle sets Rosaline's story in a contemporary high school. Rosaline and Romeo (renamed Rob) have been best friends since childhood and are just beginning to fall in love when Rosaline's cousin, Juliet, moves back into town and sets her sights on Rob.