Theater quick check

What you need to know: Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet

Theater quick check by Larissa Schütz

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Tschepp, stock.adobe.com)

Whether you're on the trolleybus on the way to the performance, having a cigarette before the premiere or queuing in the toilet, with the quick check you'll be perfectly prepared for the evening in just 2 minutes. The "Krone" has the most important information about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

What's it all about? Today, the Marionette Theater is presenting its own version of the love drama by the most famous couple in literary history.

The plot: A family feud between the Capulets and Montagues has been simmering in Verona for generations. Romeo, a Montague, attends a Capulet costume party incognito, where he meets Juliet - love at first sight. Secretly and blinded by love, the two are married by Father Lorenzo. He hopes that the wedding will reconcile the families. But their happiness doesn't last long. Juliet's cousin Tybalt picks Romeo up and challenges him to a duel, in which he dies. Romeo's in-laws demand his banishment and Juliet's marriage to Paris. To prevent this, Juliet concocts a risky plan with Father Lorenzo: she swallows a potion that makes her seemingly dead for 42 hours so that she can escape with Romeo, who is supposed to find out about the plan through a letter that unfortunately never reaches him. Instead, Romeo learns of her supposed death and poisons himself in front of her grave. When Juliet wakes up, she sees her dead lover next to her and stabs herself with his sword. The families finally realize that their feud has caused all the suffering and reconcile.

Bragging point for the break: Romeo and Juliet's marriage only lasts around 24 hours, beating Britney Spears and Jason Alexander, who hold the record for the shortest celebrity marriage at 55 hours.