This adaptation grounded Shakespeare’s original text in a world both contemporary and culturally layered.
Frank Shiner Theatre – The Sheen Center Performance Directed by Emily Allan | Produced by Little Smoke in association with No Theatre
In a city pulsing with theatre history, Yash Umesh Wala is adding his name to the Off-Broadway conversation - not with volume, but with precision.
In a modern-day staging of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Wala took on two roles that most audiences might blink past: Abram, the impulsive Capulet servant who helps ignite the opening conflict, and the Apothecary, a ghostlike figure whose decision seals Romeo’s fate. They appear briefly. They speak little. But in Wala’s hands, they mattered.
This adaptation grounded Shakespeare’s original text in a world both contemporary and culturally layered. The Capulets were reimagined as South Asian, giving the production a fresh cultural lens. To deepen this world, the fight sequences incorporated Kali Escrima, a Filipino martial art known for its speed and rhythm. Wala trained under Padraig Bond, fusing traditional movement with theatrical storytelling to portray Abram not just as aggressive, but as a product of generational tension and coded pride.
In contrast, his portrayal of the Apothecary offered stillness - a man hollowed by need, operating in the quiet margins of the city. With voice guidance from Arhan Kumar, Wala shaped the character’s inner decay into a presence that hovered just long enough to leave an imprint. His silence wasn’t empty - it was the sound of a man who had nothing left to lose.
This Off-Broadway production marks another chapter in Wala’s journey on the American stage. As a performer trained across cultures - from India’s movement-based storytelling to New York’s emotionally driven theatre - his work continues to live in dualities: movement and pause, survival and surrender, chaos and conscience.
In a play often remembered for its sweeping romance, Wala reminded audiences that the hands steering tragedy are often not in the spotlight - and that in the smallest scenes, great truths can still be heard.
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