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Romeo and Jude

By: Marty Ross
Narrated by: Owen Teale, Nick Moran, Matthew Tennyson, Frances Jeater, Ricky Norwood, Sarah Whitehouse, Zalie Burrow, Mark Straker
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  • Summary

  • A gritty reimagining of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, this brand new modern-day audiobook adaptation of William Shakespeare's classic love story is full of passion, emotion, scandal, disillusionment and family fallout.

    An amateur dramatics company in a suburban corner of nowhere. Two men with very different lives, brought together when cast in the roles of Romeo and Juliet - 'as Shakespeare would have it', in the words of their eccentric and enigmatic director. Though the elicit romance doesn't only play out on the stage.

    Against the odds, our heroes struggle to keep hold of each other and to keep a handle on real life. As the pressures, threats and expectations of their worlds draw in, per Shakespeare's original, the pithy banter from the first few scenes evaporates away to reveal a very real and present danger... and even tragedy.

    Starring Owen Teale (Game of Thrones), Matthew Tennyson (Pride), Nick Moran (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels) and Ricky Norwood (EastEnders), Romeo and Jude contains strong language and adult themes.

    This is an Audible Original Podcast. Free for members. You can download all 12 episodes to your Library now.

    ©2015 Audible, Ltd. (P)2015 Audible, Ltd.
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Episodes
  • Ep. 1: Two Households
    Apr 30 2018

    [Contains explicit content] Ray (a middle-aged, directionless and insular amateur actor), has just taken his bow at the conclusion of a moderately successful local production of 'Knickers, Vicar?' He slips outside to reflect on his life whilst the cast celebrate in the dressing room. His sister Nancy (motherly, concerned and downtrodden due to her sorry excuse for a husband), attempts to lift his spirits.

    Full cast: Owen Teale, Matthew Tennyson, Frances Jeater, Ricky Norwood, Nick Moran, Sarah Whitehouse, Zalie Burrow, Mark Straker, Richenda Carey, Stephan Chase, Josephine Arden, Simon Kane

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    26 mins
  • Ep. 2: Dignity
    Apr 30 2018

    [Contains explicit content] It's the first calamitous rehearsal of the local production of Romeo and Juliet — directed by the very quickly despairing Miranda Perrot. However, Ray and Jude provide her with the welcome possibility that this production won't be an almighty waste of her time. Her extravagant ideas for the production (and Jude's overindulgence in them!), terrify Ray to his very core and early rehearsals prove too much for him to swallow.

    Full cast: Owen Teale, Matthew Tennyson, Frances Jeater, Ricky Norwood, Nick Moran, Sarah Whitehouse, Zalie Burrow, Mark Straker, Richenda Carey, Stephan Chase, Josephine Arden, Simon Kane.

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    27 mins
  • Ep. 3: Two Foes
    Apr 30 2018

    [Contains explicit content] A drunk and maniacal Tyrone stumbles upon Ray and Jude having a post-rehearsal 'debrief' in the local pub. Rehearsals and preparation for Romeo and Juliet begin to pick up momentum and Miranda and Jude find common ground in playing dress-up. A frenetic and re-invigorated Ray is starting to become something of a mystery to his sister and brother-in-law, who struggle to keep a grip on who the real Ray is!

    Full cast: Owen Teale, Matthew Tennyson, Frances Jeater, Ricky Norwood, Nick Moran, Sarah Whitehouse, Zalie Burrow, Mark Straker, Richenda Carey, Stephan Chase, Josephine Arden, Simon Kane.

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    28 mins

Critic reviews

"Wonderful performances pepper this intriguing contemporary twist on Romeo and Juliet.... The full-cast delivers Shakespeare's words and emotions as convincingly as they deliver their off-stage personae.... In the smaller, more intimate, scenes, both plot and characters come alive." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about Romeo and Jude

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely Outstanding!

Heavens when Audible get it right they are capable of producing genuinely outstanding audio drama! This is a distance away from my normal reading but I was captivated from almost the start to the end. I almost didn't go near this. After all Romeo and Juliet has been done to death. Step forward though Romeo and Jude to prove me completely wrong on that point.

An amateur group of thespians with more enthusiasm than talent takes the bold step of hiring a professional director for the first time to guide them through Shakespeare's tragic romance. The director turns out to be rather more than they bargained for and one or two of the actors end up with a lot more than they thought they would get out of the experience. Just like the original it has family feuds, betrayals and a defining theme of how destructive prejudice can be not just to those on the receiving end but also to those dishing it out.

The story is great and the cast does it complete justice with quite unrestrained performances, there is no mere reading here it is all quality acting. I didn't think that this would be one I'd rave about but it is, in its own way one of the best things available on Audible. This is the kind of quality drama that is going to send tremors through the more traditional broadcasting and publishing houses as they try to figure out how to compete!

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23 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wow

Just amazing! Honestly, I've listened to my fair share of podcasts and audiobooks and this is one of the best that I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. Gripping, keeps you guessing, beautiful and tragic and so real! Please make more shows like this, I'm in love!

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love is love is love!

Emotional doesn't even begin to cover how I feel, what a story, even knowing the basis of this tale, the twists and turns pulled at my heart, so compelling! The relationship felt so real, it literally took my breath away in places!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Ridiculous

Started well enough and I was beginning to sympathize with main characters and could appreciate the chemistry between the leads. And somewhere in the middle, it all changed. I absolutely feel the main characters had it coming. The sheer stupidity of it all makes me wonder why they bothered reinterpreting it. An example is when Miranda is with Tyrone and has just realized that he wants information from her about Jude's whereabouts. When Jude, in a flurry of romance calls her to describe his personal verona in blackpool. At which point, Miranda, instead of exercising basic common sense, proceeds to announce Jude and Raymond's location with a series of What, is that you Jude and where, in blackpool? All within earshot of the villain! And all too conveniently placed are Jude's homophobic gangster dad and his feral cousin. Sad to say, the rederived plot was incredibly disappointing. The characters themselves, Jude and Raymond are well presented. Aside from that, romeo and jude disappoints.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible

An incredible piece of work. I listened to it in one sitting, I couldn't get enough.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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fantastic freebie

loved this. what a great take on Romeo and Juliet. listened to it on drive to work which I didn't notice at all as I was so engrossed.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Heart wrenchingly fantastic

A wonderful take on a classic narrative that breathes new life into it and suddenly make you care about the titular characters. It's performed so well that you really feel the characters to be real - that in turn lending itself to ripping your emotions to shreds come the last few chapters.
On the whole fun, sad, insightful, funny and moving~

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    5 out of 5 stars
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very good

I'm from the North West of England and really enjoyed hearing familiar names of places and accents, Blackpool, Morcombe etc...best of all was it's free!! highly recommend

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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original twist on a well loved story

A beautiful romance within the setting of the beautiful play. Loved listening to this version!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Beautifully reimagined

A very dark and creative reimagining of a timeless story.

There was clearly a great deal of chemistry between the two leads, and they did complete justice to the poetic Shakespearean writing which I loved listening to.

However, I struggled to empathise with Jude - who at times came across very aloof and arrogant, to such an extent that I started to question how exactly he classified as "beautiful" beyond his looks. This in turn led me to question the authenticity of his feelings; was he genuinely in love, or was Raymond just another "conquest"? It was difficult to tell, even towards the end.

Besides this, the production was an absolute pleasure to listen to with endless tension and drama that kept me engaged through to the conclusion. Beautiful writing that displayed a tender appreciation for Shakespeare. My favourite character was undoubtedly Miranda, whose performance was so passionate I had to share some of her quotes on social media.

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