Theatre Ensemble of Nashville

The TEN is a new addition to the Nashville theater scene; they opened their first show — Romeo and Juliet — this weekend. If you go to shows for cushy chairs, snacks at intermission, and fancy props and costumes, this isn’t the place for you. But if you like theater because you enjoy the experience of watching a story play out around you, you just might find a show that’s to your liking.
The experience is very bare-​bones — folding chairs, cinderblock walls, and nothing in the way of scenery other than a raised platform painted black. It’s a very intimate venue — there are chairs for about 50 people, the girl selling tickets will pop out at intermission to tell you it’s time for a break. One of the people we saw on Saturday night had brought his own cushion for the chairs — BRILLIANT. You should do that.
I really enjoyed their rendition of Romeo and Juliet. The Montagues and Capulets wear argyle and plaid, respectively (BRILLIANT!) which makes it very easy to follow who is angry at whom. Mercutio’s performance was the best I have ever seen, on stage or on screen, hands-​down. This is a particularly great show for those of you who vaguely remember reading this in junior high or who avoided it at all costs because Shakespeare is obnoxiously incomprehensible — even though they haven’t modernized a single word of the script, you’ll understand what’s going on — and you’ll even get the Nurse’s saucy jokes through the veil of Shakespeare’s English.
Tickets are incredibly reasonably priced at $ 10. Keep an eye on their Twitter feed for deals — I scored 2 free tickets for retweeting the information about their opening weekend.