Just thought I'd write about this Twitter adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that I heard about recently and thought was pretty postmodern, called "Such Tweet Sorrow". Basically the Royal Shakespeare Company have decided to put together a "play" on Twitter based on the events of Romeo and Juliet that will consist of tweets as if the events are actually happening in the present day. The tweets will be updated by the six actors playing the parts of the characters. I now follow all the characters of the play and here is some examples of the sorts of things they're tweeting.
As you can see the subject matter of the tweets give an indication of whereabouts in the story they are, showing the hatred between the fictional Montagues and Capulets.
Theres so many reasons why this adaptation is postmodern but here is just some of them :D
Bricolage - using the very well known and regarded Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet and incorporating it with new technology such a Twitter. Using social networking as a medium to tell a story breaks down the conventions of a play, whereby a physical audience is necessary.
As the Twitter audience can interact with the characters this shows a postmodern society whereby the audience's relationship with the text is changing, they are now becoming active rather than passive.
The play also conforms to Baudrillard's similacra. It is a hyper reality on many levels as we know the events are fictional but they are presented to us as though they are. Also each character has a different viewpoint therefore portrays their own similacra of "reality" through their tweets. For example their differing viewpoints on the Montagues and Capulets.
The adaptation is an homage to Shakespeare in that it shows the story can still be relevant and entertaining in a modern context and through any medium.
Intertextual references are made to both real life and Romeo and Juliet itself. For example Romeo refers to playing Call of Duty and the film The Mummy. However the characters also make mention of events and people from the play itself eg. Tybalt and the trouble he causes. The title of the adaptation is in itself a play on the quote "parting is such sweet sorrow". This allows for many layers of understanding for the audience, the more they know of the original play, the more they can understand from the implications of the character's tweets.
Strinati's ideas are also followed. For example confusions between time and space. The medium of Twitter means that the "play" follows a non linear narrative, with the characters tweeting whenever they want, within the guidlines of the script, whereas in a play certain words would have to be spoken at specific points. The breakdown between high art and pop culture is also shown here with a well renowned piece of literature such as Romeo and Juliet being portrayed on a social networking site such as Twitter.
Those are only some of the ways in which the Twitter play is postmodern, but here are some articles to explain what it actually is much better than I did lol
Lots of loove, Hannah :D xxx
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