“Right, who wants to play Juliet?”

Mr Willcox's voice rang out through the classroom. Known to all the boys as 'Old Wilco', (he was after all about fifty so really had one foot in the grave), the teacher's eyes swept the room like twin searchlights. Dead silence. Brian, who was sitting in the back row silently prayed 'Don't let him see me'. Perhaps if he sat perfectly still and stared straight ahead, he would be invisible, just like in the science fiction story he had just read. It wasn't to be.

“How about you, Wales?” The voice demanded an answer.

“Me, sir?”

“Yes, you sir.”

“But I'd be no good, sir. I'd spoil it. I can't act; I couldn't even remember the lines, sir.” Brian lied desperately.

“Can't act Wales? You sell yourself short. I remember the case of a sore knee which got you out of playing football one afternoon. You limped around school all day and then made a miraculous recovery when you passed out of the school gates!”

The rest of the class laughed. Traitors!

“No, my mind is made up Wales, you will play Juliet.”

It wasn't just that Brian was doomed to play Juliet, it was the boy who had been selected to play Romeo. Joey Verona was tall, dark and handsome, a tribute to his Italian parents. His real name was Guiseppe, but that didn't lend itself to shortening, so he had chosen 'Joey' instead.

Brian had often asked himself why he thought that Joey was handsome. Boys didn't think that about other boys. Although they were both in the same class, they moved in different circles. Brian's was known as the 'swot circle' and Joey's was the 'athletes circle'. Despite what Brian had said to Old Wilco, he actually had a very good memory, while Joey, a star on the football field, wasn't an academic, and didn't care who knew it. It must have been his looks that had made Old Wilco select him for the part of Romeo, that and his conviction that anyone could learn lines if only they applied themselves properly.

Brian tuned out while the rest of the cast was selected. Who on earth had the crazy idea of choosing 'Romeo and Juliet' as the end of year play in an all-boys school? To give him his due, Archie Willcox had been to see the headmaster with a suggestion that they recruit girls from the local 'young ladies' college', to play the female parts. Jimmy Jackson, who was awaiting his turn in the secretary's office outside the Headmaster's study for some corporal punishment, related what happened next. He only heard the Headmaster's side of the conversation, but Old Wilco's side could be inferred:

“Let teenage girls loose among sex-crazed adolescent boys, Willcox? Are you out of your mind?” the 'Head's' voice boomed.

After an indistinct comment by 'Old Wilco': “And what happens when one of them ends 'up the duff'? My career goes 'down the gurgler', that's what! No, Wilcox, if boys playing girls was good enough for Shakespeare, it's good enough for me!”

Mr Willcox left the 'Head's” study very shortly afterwards, wearing a 'hangdog' expression and leaving Jimmy Jackson to answer the bark to 'Come in”. He was sure it was thanks to Mr Willcox that Algernon Wackem, BA (Hons) Oxon, was in a foul temper and laid on the 'six of the best' with much more vigor than might have been expected. Relaying the story of 'Old Wilco's' visit to the 'Head' hardly made up for having to gingerly sit down for the rest of the day and night.

There were two female parts that were really not suitable to be played by boys; one was Juliet's nurse and after further negotiations with the Headmaster, it was agreed that Ethel Willcox, the teacher's wife, who had had some experience in amateur dramatics, would play that. Three married friends of hers were also co-opted, one to play Lady Capulet, and the other two to be guests at the Capulet's ball, early in the play. They looked forward to it with great anticipation.

Even Mr Willcox realised that a complete two-hour play was asking too much of teenage boys, and so he had taken his blue pencil and cut swathes of dialogue from the script, and he didn't stop there.

“After all,” he said to his wife. “If Laurence Olivier can totally excise Rosenkranz and Guildenstern from his film of Hamlet, surely I can get rid of a few minor characters?”

The final result was a compact forty-five minutes while still including the essential elements of the play.

Some scenes were sacrosanct, such as the Capulet's ball where Romeo first meets Juliet. ('What lady is that, which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight?'), and of course the famous 'balcony scene'. In the script, it says that Juliet appears at a window, but the balcony is too ingrained in everyone's memory of the play to be removed. A number of boys who were not cast members but were interested in carpentry would be making scenery under the supervision of a qualified tradesman, and this included the exterior of the Capulet house with the balcony which had to be properly constructed not to give way under the weight of Juliet. As a precaution, it was only elevated six feet from the stage level, rather less than in most productions.

Rehearsals started in the school's gymnasium, while the scenery was constructed and installed on the stage of the assembly hall. Everyone started off with the script in hand but gradually learned their lines and in the end, it was only Joey who was struggling.

“I say, Wales, you couldn't give me a hand with these wretched lines, could you?” he asked Brian. As a result, the two of then spend hours together at Joey's home while Brian patiently went over the script with his co-star. Eventually, Joey had a fair grasp of his part with only the occasional 'dry', and if it was a scene with Brian, a whispered prompt set him on the right path. One result of this was that Joey had increased respect for his 'swot' co-star who was no good at sport. Brian's feelings for Joey were not something he really wanted to explore.

Mrs Wales, Brian's mother, had been asked to take charge of costumes and assembled a small group of other boys' mothers. This was fortunate for Brian as he could try on Juliet's costumes in the privacy of his own home. There were only two, one was the gown which would be worn in the daytime scenes and at the ball, and the other was a nightgown. Both were assembled out of some clothing which Mrs Wales had long since ceased wearing, and being a talented seamstress, she was able to create two beautiful costumes for Brian to wear.

After consultation with the other mothers, it was decided that Brian should wear a bra with a little padding. In the play, Juliet was stated by her Nurse to be approaching her fourteenth birthday, so it seemed appropriate for her to appear to be just starting to develop breasts. Another decision was that she should wear white stockings and jewelled slippers. This meant Brian had to wear a suspender belt to hold the stockings in place and so, in the end, the only item of male clothing that he was going to wear during the performances was his regular underpants.

The first time he wore the costumes so that his mother could make necessary adjustments, the feel of the satin and lace gown and silk nightdress on his hairless skin was remarkably sensual and made him feel much more like a young girl than he did while rehearsing wearing his school uniform. Despite this, he was giving a good performance at the rehearsals, with his light tenor voice resembling that of a young woman, and Mr Willcocks was heard to remark to his friend the P.E. teacher: “Young Wales has quite a talent as an actor. Maybe that will be his rôle in life as he doesn't seem interested in anything else.” What neither of them realised was that Brian was achieving this level of performance by imagining himself wearing the costumes his mother had made for him.

'Old Wilco' was also sensible enough to realised that the scenes where the lovers kissed should not be done while they were in school uniform, so as the director he interposed the stage direction “They kiss' at the appropriate moments. However, he made it plain that real kisses must be performed at the dress rehearsal and the two performances.

Finally, the day of the dress rehearsal arrived. Despite the limited amount of changing room space in the school's assembly hall, Mrs Wales had insisted that Brian be given the privacy of his own room in which to change costumes since wearing the costume to school was deemed impractical. Brian's mother knew as well as he did that should any of the other boys see him wearing a bra, suspender belt and stockings, he would be mercilessly hounded for the rest of his school days and maybe beyond. Another room was also reserved for the ladies who were taking part in the play to change into their costumes.

The boys in the cast were given the morning off for last-minute preparations before the performance which would start at two o'clock. Penny Wales had a suggestion for her son but didn't know how he would react. Rather than wait until arriving at the school she suggested that he put on his costume underwear at home and wear it under his school uniform, which fortunately included long trousers, so the stockings would not be visible. This would make it much easier and quicker to get ready as all he would have to do was remove his uniform and put on Juliet's gown with the help of his mother.

“I have a suggestion to make, Brian,” said his mother. “You don't have to do it if you don't want to. Your boy's underpants are a bit bulky so I wondered how you would feel about wearing these? They're girl's cotton underpants.” She was careful to describe them this way rather than using the word 'panties' which would probably result in instant rejection by Brian. She handed them to him and he felt them. The material was much softer than his usual underpants. It occurred to him that since everything else he was to wear was female, what was one more item?

“Alright, Mum, I'll see how they feel,” he said. They felt wonderfully soft against his skin, but he was careful to answer his mum's enquiry with an offhand: “Yes, they're alright.” He didn't want to sound too enthusiastic, but of course he didn't fool her for a moment.

He put on the rest of the underwear without any padding in the bra cups and then his school uniform on top. Nobody would ever guess what he was wearing under it.

Brian and his mother arrived at the school and went to their allotted change room adjacent to the assembly hall stage. Brian's room was little more than a broom cupboard. There was just enough room for him and his mother to help him put on his gown. She had brought two laddered stockings which she rolled up and inserted in the bra cups. This gave them just enough shape to suggest budding breasts. Then they proceeded to the makeup area when Brian's face was made up and his wig fitted and adjusted. Looking at himself in the mirror he was surprised just how much like a young girl he looked.

A couple of things were worrying Brian. These did not include the script or acting as he had a good handle on both. No, what was worrying was whether the entire school who would be present, would treat the performance seriously, or start sniggering or calling out. The second thing was that on this occasion and the two performances to follow, he would need to kiss Joey. What would their reaction be to that? Indeed, what would his reaction be?

At a quarter to two, the entire school was assembled in the hall, and there was an excited buzz of chatter. Some of the boys were quite ready to make a circus of the performance with themselves as the stars. If it ended in a riot, so much the better, but they had reckoned without the Headmaster.

Algernon Wackem had been teaching for over thirty years and what he didn't know about teenage boys wasn't worth knowing. When the auditorium lights were partially dimmed and the lights on the red curtains were raised, instead of the first scene starting, Algernon Wackem strode onto the stage and stared down at the assembled throng.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” he began. “This afternoon you have been excused your usual classes so that you can be present at this performance of 'The Tragedy(heavy emphasis) of Romeo and Juliet' written by the world's most famous playwright, William Shakespeare, and performed by boys from the school assisted by some of their mothers. I expect you to give the play your earnest attention and watch it in silence except for applause at the end of each act. It any boy is tempted to disrupt proceedings by laughing, whistling or catcalling, be assured that his name will be taken, and he will be visiting me in my study where I will point out the error of his ways in a most painful manner. I hope I have made myself clear?”

“Yes, sir,” mumbled the assembled throng. Brian who was standing in the wings never thought he would say to himself “Good old Wacko”.

The play then opened in the usual way with the boy playing 'Chorus' introducing the action: “Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona where we lay our scene, etc,....”

The performance went very well. Cowed by the Headmaster's threats, the audience was as quiet as three hundred boys assembled in one place can be. Even when Brian and Joey kissed, and they were very brief and aseptic kisses, such as you might exchange with a family member, there was no reaction from the audience. Brian did not have the same response; the moment his lips touched Joey, it felt like a mild electric shock passed through his body. It was probably just as well that the kiss was so brief, or he might have totally lost track of where he was in the play.

Near the end of the last scene when Brian was sitting on the floor of the mausoleum, with Joey's head on his lap before stabbing himself in the chest with a retractable blade (“O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rust and let me die”) Brian was feeling really emotional, and genuine tears were running down his cheeks.

At the curtain call, Brian and Joey were the last to appear and the applause from their fellow schoolboys was loud and enthusiastic. Brian could hardly believe it, and right then and there he decided that this is what he wanted to do with his life.

This is not all that happened that day. As the two of them were heading towards the dressing rooms, Joey suddenly took Brian's hand and said: “Come with me, there's something I want to show you.” Puzzled, Brian allowed himself to be led down a corridor away from everyone else, and through a door into a small storeroom. Joey closed the door and immediately took Brian into his arms and started to kiss him. This was nothing like the stage kisses and nothing like the kisses you get from an aunt; no, this was a full-on kiss with lips locked together. Brian felt Joey's tongue force his lips apart and find his own tongue. If the stage kiss had felt like a mild electric shock, this was like fifty thousand volts passing through his body.

When their lips finally parted and they stood there panting, Brian gasped “What did you do that for?”

Joey grinned. “Don't pretend you didn't like it, I felt how your body reacted. I just wanted to show you what a proper kiss feels like.”

“It felt like, like...." said Brian and suddenly his lips were locked against Joey's once more. He had never felt anything like it, and he wanted more.

Finally, Joey eased gently away, saying “We'd better go; people will be missing us.” He listened at the door and then eased it open. “Let's go, can you find your way to the makeup room?”

When Brian sat in the chair to have his wig and makeup removed, the young woman in charge of makeup couldn't help noticing how his lipstick was smeared, but she chose to say nothing rather than embarrass him. She had already removed Joey's makeup and noticed the same shade of lipstick on his lips. She had watched the performance and couldn't believe that so much lipstick could be transferred by the chaste kisses she had observed. Afterwards, while helping him remove his costume, his mother asked where he had got to. “I was starting to think you were lost,” she said before congratulating him on his performance. “I had no idea you are so good,” she said.

The two performances of the play were held on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and were attended by the boys' families and friends. They were very well received and even had a standing ovation on Friday evening. Brian was ecstatic and wondered if there was any chance that he could act professionally. His kisses with Joey were slightly longer than before but still had to be restrained not to risk them getting into trouble. He hoped that he would have another storeroom assignation with Joey, but unfortunately there were too many people around for them to risk it.

At the conclusion of the Saturday matinee, the boys were given an afternoon tea with plenty of sandwiches, cakes, and soft drinks, thanks to the headmaster, who had been pleasantly surprised with the standard of the performances. Brian decided that perhaps 'Old Wacko' wasn't as bad as he was made out to be.

At one point Joey came over to have a word with him. “It's a pity it's all over,” he said. “We didn't get a chance to get together again. Oh well, there's always next year.”

Brian's face fell. When you are a teenager, a year is an eternity. He knew what his feelings were for Joey, but he wondered if Joey had been attracted to him or to Juliet.

That's pretty much the end of Brian's story, but if you are like me, you like a happy ending, so here is a postscript, just to show that 'Romeo and Juliet' doesn't have to have a sad conclusion.

I had just finished typing the previous paragraph when I heard the key turn in the front door and my husband came in bearing a lovely bouquet of flowers.

“Hello, darling, happy anniversary,” he said, putting down the flowers and sweeping me into his arms as he gave me one of his electric kisses.

I was puzzled by his remark but wasn't going to cut short our embrace to find out what he meant. When we finally came up for air, I asked him what he meant by 'happy anniversary'.

He laughed “It's supposed to be women who remember anniversaries and men who forget them,” he chuckled, ”Although I must confess that in this case, I had a reminder. I was looking through some old papers and came across a ten-year-old copy of the school magazine with an article about the annual school play which as you know was 'Romeo and Juliet'. There was also a picture of the cast in costume which included the gorgeous Juliet and the rather handsome Romeo. I checked the date and realised that today is the tenth anniversary of that kiss we shared in the storeroom. I wonder if you remember it?”

“Remember it?” I said. “How could I ever forget it? I couldn't wait for it to happen again, not realising that there wouldn't be a repeat performance for five years.”

“That's true,” he said, “My father getting a sudden transfer with his job and us moving a couple of hundred miles away during the school holidays didn't help.”

“You just weren't there at the start of the next term. I was devastated but I couldn't tell anyone, and I didn't know how to get in touch with you. I was still very shy and after the play and us kissing, I was afraid that asking how I could contact you might be misconstrued. After all, it was a Catholic boy's school. When we did meet, completely by accident, it was totally the wrong time from my point of view; there I was half-way through transitioning, no longer male but not yet completely female. I remember seeing you and trying to dodge out of your way, but it was too late.”

“Thank goodness I saw you,” he said. “I remember we had a long talk and when we parted, we kissed again, five years after the previous time.”

“I remember that kiss too,” I said. “It was a very gentle loving kiss and told me all I needed to know. The five years since then have been the happiest years of my life. I was feeling so lonely even though I knew I was doing what I had to do. I couldn't believe you would support me the way you have and now I'm even your wife.”

Joey took me in his arms once more and kissed me tenderly. “That's because I'm so completely and utterly in love with you and always will be, my sweet, my darling Brianna.”

The End.

Image: "Romeo and Juliet' by Sir Frank Dicksee 1853-1928 Copyright free image