It’s been a while since I made a “story from my life” post. I believe I have a bad experience from my life that you might find amusing.
I was never much of a theatre fan. When I was in school, I would go to plays with my class. I had fun, but there was nothing that would turn me into a theatre kid. Now that I’m an adult, I sometimes go to the theater with my family. This story started when my mom sent me and my brother a message. She recommended a play called, “It Was a Lark / Bila je to ševa”. For those of you who don’t speak Croatian, in my language, “ševa” is a term for sex.
The play in question is a Romeo & Juliet parody. It portrays them as a middle-aged couple in a failing marriage. I thought, “Is this just going to be two hours of boomer humor?” When my mom asked me if I wanted to come, I said maybe. When the day of the play came, my aunt and brother reminded me. I said I didn’t want to go. The two of them got angry; they said that I was breaking my promise and that I need to spend time with my mom. I said that I never actually agreed to go and that we can hang out some other time. We argued for a while, but they eventually wore me down.
Needless to say, I wasn’t in a good mood when evening came and we were at the theater. But hey, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Maybe the play was going to be better than… why am I doing this? You read the title, you know I didn’t like it. The play was exactly what I expected. Romeo is a fat, inconsiderate idiot, Julia is a neurotic nag who can’t stand him and their daughter is a teenage brat who never listens to them. They’re the same sitcom cliches that I’ve seen a million times. My mom told me that she saw that play when she was young, so I guess that explains the stale humor.
Most of the play was pretty forgettable, but there are some moments that stuck out. At one point, Juila was talking to a horny priest. When the priest groped her, the actor broke character, turned to the audience and bragged about grabbing his colleague’s tits with no consequences. I was caught off guard, but the rest of the audience laughed, including the women. Yes, I know it was just a part of the show, but I was surpised that they got away with it. I know I’m not the most politically correct comedian out there, but I’ve never had one character molest another and get away with it.
Maybe it’s a generational thing. Most of the audience was older than me, so they were less sensitive to that kind of humor. Another moment that stood out was Shakespeare himself showing up as a character. Romeo and Juliet got angry at him for their miserable lives, but it wasn’t emphasized or surprising enough to make me laugh. Their daughter fell in love with him and they ran away together. The play never specified the age of the daughter, so she could be 18 or older, but still, I found it more gross than funny.
I’ve complained a lot, but there are some things that I liked. The actors were pretty good. “Romeo” and “Juliet” had to play several roles and they managed to give each character their own personality. That’s not an easy task. When I talked about how unfunny the play was, I was referring to the writing, not the acting. The actors failed to make me laugh, but I appreciate their effort. I also want to say that “Romeo and Juliet grow into a miserable couple” is not a bad premise for a play. In the original, they were a pair of impulsive teenagers. Their relationship was (at least partially) fueled by spite for their families. Of course a couple like that isn’t going to have a happy ending, whether they live or die.
Unfortunately, a good idea doesn’t mean a good execution. I don’t know, maybe I’m biased because I was pressured into watching the play. Take my perspective with a grain of salt. Do you like to watch plays? If you do, which one stood out to you and for what reason? It can be either good or bad.