One of Shakespeare's most famous plays gets a 21st century makeover in a new version of "Romeo and Juliet" which will unfold through Twitter messages and on the YouTube video website.
Entitled "Such Tweet Sorrow," the experiment is a collaboration between the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Mudlark, which produces entertainment on mobile telephones.
Organizers have already outlined a contemporary "narrative arc" loosely based on the original tragedy, and the cast will improvise the rest through Tweets which have already begun to appear on the website .
The production will take place over five weeks and allows for the characters to interact not only among themselves but also with members of the "audience."
Each character writes their own tweets, guided by an existing storyline and diary which outlines where they are at any moment in the adventure.
And so two families named after the original adversaries the Montagues and Capulets have loathed each other for years after a fatal car crash in an unnamed English market town in 2000.
Juliet, played by actress Charlotte Wakefield, is just turning 16 and wonders whether she should have a birthday party to celebrate. She posts a video on YouTube showing viewers a typical teenager's bedroom.
Her Twitter name is @julietcap16 while Romeo's entry into the messaging world comes later as "he is too busy on his Xbox."
"We have no real idea of what the next five weeks will bring, but we are holding onto our seatbelts," said Charles Hunter from Mudlark.
Michael Boyd, artistic director of the RSC, added: "Our ambition is always to connect people with Shakespeare and bring actors and audiences closer together.
"Mobile phones don't need to be the antichrist for theater. This digital experiment ... allows our actors to use mobiles to tell their stories in real time and reach people wherever they are in a global theater."
莎士比亚最著名的剧作之一《罗密欧与朱丽叶》在21世纪的今天得以重新演绎，现代版剧作的剧情由微博”推特“用户即兴编写，并在YouTube视频网站上演。
这一名为《推特版甜蜜的忧伤》的创作尝试活动由皇家莎士比亚剧团和手机娱乐产品运营商慕德拉克公司联合打造。
活动组织者已根据原著预先设定好了”主脉络“，剩下的情节由“演员”通过“推特”即兴创作。现在这些推文已开始在网站上陆续出现。
现代版故事的创作将持续五周，剧中角色不仅可以互相交流，还可以与“观众”互动。
每个人物角色根据预先设定的故事梗概和描述角色当时处境的日志来撰写推文。
根据现代版故事剧情，原著中的宿敌蒙特格家族与凯普莱特家族因2000年在一个不知名的英国集镇发生的一起致命车祸而从此结下世仇。
演员夏洛特•威克菲尔德扮演的女主角朱丽叶刚刚年满16岁，正考虑是否要举办一场生日庆祝派对。她在YouTube网站上传了一段视频，向观众们展示自己的卧室。
她的推特用户名为@julietcap16，而“罗密欧”晚些时候才会登场，因为“他正忙着玩Xbox游戏”。
慕德拉克公司的查尔斯•亨特说：“我们也不知道接下来的五周里故事将如何发展，我们就等着看好戏了。”
皇家莎士比亚剧团艺术总监迈克尔•博伊德说：“我们一直希望人们与莎士比亚走得更近，让演员和观众走得更近。”
“手机不一定就是剧院的‘叛道者’。这部数字剧作让我们的演员能够用手机实时讲故事，无论你身在何处，都能在一个全球的大剧场里看戏。”
Vocabulary:
cast: the group of performers to whom parts are assigned; players（全体演员）
antichrist: an opponent of Christ; a person or power antagonistic to Christ, a disbeliever in Christ（反基督者，基督徒的敌人）