It is Romeo and Juliet and Rangers and Celtic

Before there was Celtic and Rangers there was Montagues and Capulets. The Shakespearean rivalry in Romeo and Juliet was the Old Firm of its day minus the football. A school in Glasgow is adding a new twist to the Old Bard’s work by performing a version of the play that includes Celtic-supporting Montagues and Rangers-supporting Capulets.

The thought of a Rangers fan falling head over in love with a Celtic fan might seem a bit far fetched, but this is drama after all and it is all being staged in the name of education and understanding.

Lauren Docherty, one of the Rangers-supporting Protestants, is kitted out in green. What do her parents think of her “playing” for the opposition? She looks uneasy. “They don’t really know about the Celtic-Rangers thing. I’ve not told them.” Will they be surprised when they see her in green? She grins. “Yeah!”

Emma Gray, aka Juliet, is a Celtic fan, and wasn’t best pleased when she heard Juliet’s clan would be Rangers supporters. But now she is relaxed. “It’s not just about football - it’s about every type of sectarianism in Glasgow. We’re going to set an example in Romeo and Juliet of what things should be like. Maybe our mums and dads didn’t get a chance when they were kids.”

Whether or not the play will inspire Rangers and Celtic to come together and to build gold statues in tribute to their peaceful ways remains to be seen, but it will undoubtedly turn out better than my high school’s version which saw the leading lady vomit during Act 1 and the set fall apart during Act 2. A comedy of errors it was.

Soccer Forums

Team/International Results

Category: Scottish Premier League

Tags: Celtic, Rangers, Romeo and Juliet, Scottish Premier League, Shakespeare, The Old Firm

Subscribe   The Offside RSS Feeds

Print

Share