MUSICALS  The Expanding Sky   A Mad, Mad Madrigal!   Juggler to the King   PLAYS Ice Maidens  The Friar & The Nurse   Goddess and the Magdalene   Scratchy Scratcherton   One Acts  Ten-Minute Pieces  Specialty Scripts

 

The secret affair of Romeo's Friar and Juliet's Nurse 
is explored in an intimate play for two performers.

During the events of “Romeo and Juliet” (and at the dawning of Martin Luther’s Reformation) Romeo’s Friar and Juliet’s Nurse strike up a fast friendship, meeting frequently in the Friar’s cell to conspire to help Romeo and Juliet. One night, they drink perhaps too much wine, and…well…

 The Friar and the Nurse try to dismiss their indiscretion, but discover that they’ve fallen in love. As the tragic events of “Romeo and Juliet” unfold outside the Friar’s door, the onstage couple’s relationship weaves its own course, culminating in a sweetly devastating end.

“…by turns, earthy and spiritual, capricious and serious, passionate and pure... (a) smartly conceived, perfectly proportioned, beautifully executed play.”

- Julie York Coppens,  The Charlotte Observer

“Taking a page from Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, actor-playwright Stan Peal focuses on two more of Shakespeare's other supporting characters—this time from Romeo and Juliet… (an) appealing central conceit.”

- Ellen Carpenter, New York Magazine

“A joyous celebration of falling in love and the mystery of human attraction... It delights”

- Gwen Orel, BackStage, New York

“It’s beautiful.…I was laughing, crying, and worrying about the characters as if I had known them all my life.”

- Sarah Congress, NYTheatre.com

“Fat-free dialogue, blessedly devoid of flowery Olde English… a collision between Shakespeare and David Mamet.”

- Allison West, Charlotte Theatre Magazine

THE FRIAR AND THE NURSE was originally produced by Epic Arts Repertory Theatre, June of 2003 at the Southend Performing Arts Center, Charlotte, NC, featuring:
                                    The Nurse                    Laura Depta
                                    The Friar                     Stan Peal
                                    Director                        Lon Bumgarner
                                    Costume Design           Barbi Van Schaick
                                    Sound Design               Stan Peal

 The original production was funded in part by a Regional Artists’ Grant from the NC Arts Council/ASC of Mecklenburg County. It was revived the following two years, featuring the same artistic team:

July 2004 -       City Stage Festival, Charlotte, NC
                        Presented by the Blumenthal Center for the Performing Arts, Charlotte NC

August 2005 -  New York International Fringe Festival, New York, NY
                        A Production of The Present Company, New York, NY

Show Stats:
Drama - 75 Minutes
2 Characters (1 F, 1 M)
For a sample or more information, email the playwright.