Romeo and Juliet and he climbs the balcony with the help of his servant, Julia and the nurse (the servants discreetly withdraw after this). Nevertheless, in October 2014, Lois Leveen speculated in "The Atlantic" that the original Shakespeare play did not contain a balcony. The word, "balcone", did not exist in the English language until two years after Shakespeare's death. The balcony was certainly used in Thomas Otway's 1679 play, "The History and Fall of Caius Marius", which had borrowed much of its story from "Romeo and Juliet" and placed the two lovers in a balcony reciting a speech similar to that between
Romeo and Juliet during which Shakespeare was London's dominant playwright. The date of the first performance is unknown. The First Quarto, printed in 1597, says that "it hath been often (and with great applause) plaid publiquely", setting the first performance before that date. The Lord Chamberlain's Men were certainly the first to perform it. Besides their strong connections with Shakespeare, the Second Quarto actually names one of its actors, Will Kemp, instead of Peter, in a line in Act Five. Richard Burbage was probably the first Romeo, being the company's actor, and Master Robert Goffe (a boy) the first Juliet. The premiere is