Interview: Lois Leveen
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Between
Shakespeare’s Lines In her novel Juliet’s Nurse, Lois Leveen takes a minor character from Romeo and Juliet ERH WIXW LIV ½VQP] SR centre stage. The Oregon-based author told us what it was like to rewrite one of Shakespeare’s greatest hits. Interview by Mary Finch
Left: Penny Layden as the Nurse and Ellie Kendrick as Juliet in this 2009 production. Image: Shakespeare’s Globe. Above: Lois Leveen by John Melville Bishop.
Why did you decide to take on Romeo and Juliet? “It really started, specifically with the title, Juliet’s Nurse. When the title popped into my head I was really excited and I went back and re-read the play. Though I have taught other Shakespeare plays, I hadn’t actually read Romeo and Juliet since high school.” What was it about the Nurse that made you want to tell her story? “The first scene when the Nurse appears is also Juliet’s first scene. Juliet has eight lines of text and the Nurse has over 60,
! SHAKESPEARE magazine
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