I watched my first play in Hong Kong. And it wasn't half bad! It was actually very interesting; it was worth watching if just for the premise.
The play suggests 11 explanations for why Friar John, the supposed messenger sent by Friar Lawrence to Romeo did not make it Mantua in time. Remember Friar Lawrence was the one that gave Juliet the potion to make her "die". The plan was for Friar Lawrence to send a messenger to Romeo to let him know that Juliet was not dead (but only sleeping). The messenger never made it. Romeo thought Juliet was dead, so he killed himself in anguish. When Juliet woke up and saw the dead Romeo, she stabs herself as well.
And so ends what is arguably the most tragic love story in English literature.
But why does the messenger fail? And what would have happened if he made it?
The playwright suggests 11 explanations. The play's a comedy, so most of it really is kalokohan. In one sketch, Robin Hood steals the letter. In another, in an adaptation from the book, Tom Sawyer cons the Friar into painting the fence.
The ending was a little disappointing. If the messenger makes it, then the play is no longer a tragedy and its entire charm is lost. Happy endings are great in real life, but corny in drama.
(Aside: this was the same conflict in Stranger than Fiction but there you really ended up rooting for the character and hoping that the author would not kill him off even if saving the hero meant destroying the novel.)
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