This 14th Century Lover Boy’s Costumes Never Lose Style

LONDON — Since the publication of “Romeo and Juliet” 428 years ago by William Shakespeare, a handful of handsome leading men have taken on the role of the lover boy on stage and screen, from Leslie Howard in 1936 and Leonard Whiting in 1968 to Leonardo DiCaprio in 1996 and Orlando Bloom in 2013.

At the Royal Ballet and Opera in London, however, it’s a more recurring role that’s staged every three years with a longer lineup of principal dancers taking on the role of Romeo: there’s Reece Clarke, Marcelino Sambé, Matthew Ball, William Bracewell and Steven McRae.

The Romeos may change, but the costumes remain the same as they were in the ‘60s when Greek painter and stage designer Nicholas Georgiadis designed them.

“There’s a whole costume and workroom revival team who take really good care of the fabrics and preserve them because none of the fabrics are in production anymore,” said Clarke, who will be playing Romeo on May 10 and 26.

His costumes include a shiny blue bodice with voluminous sleeves, a faint floral print and gold decorative trimmings; a cream bodice with a regalia print in gold thread, puffed sleeves and detachable green sleeves; a silk white billowy tunic with elongated cuffs and little tassel details, and a silk burnt orange cape that Romeo uses to pounce across the stage whenever he’s entering or exiting.

“It’s crazy to think that I’m wearing the original tunic that ballet dancers I’ve looked up to such as Jonathan Cope and Roberto Bolle have worn,” said Clarke, who remembers the awe he felt the first time he tried them on.

The bodices have had to be adjusted for the dancer’s towering figure of 6 feet, 2 inches by opening the back or elongating the shoulders.

Even though the costumes reflect the sartorial codes of the 14th century, a majority of the pieces that Georgiadis made complement the choreography.

“When I’m running, the fabrics fold and make these beautiful shapes — wearing [the tunics] on stage is so freeing,” Clarke said. That’s in sharp contrast to the Batman-like capes that sweep across the stage and that he jokingly refers to as his dancing partner after Juliet.

“Dealing with the cape is the thing I’m most stressed about — it’s huge and weighted. There are a few moments where Romeo is busy in his world, falling in love and he’s got to swoosh the cape over his shoulders,” said Clarke, noting that there have been instances during rehearsals where the cape has become uncontrollable.

But he knows the costume adds key details to the characters’ personalities — Romeo’s friend Mercutio wears bright oranges to reflect his wit, while Tybalt is usually in deep reds that signify his hot headed temper and passionate nature.

“Romeo’s got the beautiful blues with the gold details, which shows his romantic side,” Clarke said. 

It’s not the dancer’s first time in such grand costumes on stage. He has played the lead role in “Manon” that was originally choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan, which Georgiadis also did the costumes for.

Interestingly, the costumes that Georgiadis designed in the ‘60s and ‘70s are not a far reach from what was on the men’s spring 2025 runways. At Hermès, Véronique Nichanian described her collection as “gentle,” “sweet” and “poetic,” and the color palette came straight from the shorelines and landscapes of so many Mediterranean resorts. 

Similarly, at Moschino, models channeled Romeo’s lovestruck character with polo shirts cut out to reveal a red heart tattoo or oversize, unbuttoned shirts with rolled up sleeves. And KidSuper’s Colm Dillane and Di Petsa’s Dimitra Petsa incorporated white shirts with lace or ruched details that would fit perfectly into Romeo’s Shakespearean wardrobe.