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
Shakespeare in Love (play) the 2016 Stratford (Ontario, Canada) Festival season. The director of the production was Declan Donnellan, with the rest of the original creative team from London show returning for the Canadian production. The first U.S. production of the play occurred on February 18, 2017, at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The play was produced at the Burbage Theater of Pawtucket, Rhode Island as the first presentation of its 2018–2019 season. A new production of the play, directed by Phillip Breen, will embark on a UK tour opening at the Theatre Royal, Bath from 4 to 13 October 2018, before heading to Theatre