Characters in Romeo and Juliet he is given a direct connection to his brother. Although he has a very small role in Shakespeare's play, earlier versions of the story gave him no role or mention at all. In fact, they gave even Mercutio a very minor role. Shakespeare was the first English dramatist to use the name "Valentine" on stage, in his earlier plays, "Titus Andronicus" and "The Two Gentlemen of Verona". In "Titus", Valentine plays a minor role, but in "Two Gentlemen", he is one of the title characters. Incidentally, the Valentine of "Two Gentlemen" borrows heavily from Arthur Brooke's Romeus in "The Tragical
The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Directed by Simon Godwin, the production starred Michael Marcus as Valentine, Mark Arends as Proteus, Pearl Chanda as Julia and Sarah MacRae as Silvia. On 3 September, the play was broadcast live to cinemas around the world as part of the "Live from Stratford-upon-Avon" series. The production received generally positive reviews, with most critics happy to see it back on the RSC stage. Benjamin Victor rewrote the play for performance in 1762 (the earliest recorded performance we have of the play), at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. Starring Richard Yates as Launce, his wife,