Shakespeare in Original Pronunciation (OP) is a movement dedicated to the examination and subsequent performance of Shakespeare's works in the phonology, or sound system, of Early Modern English. Modern movement In 2004, Shakespeare's Globe, in London, produced three performances of Romeo and Juliet in original pronunciation. Spearheaded by linguist David Crystal and play director, Tim Carroll, this was the beginning of contemporary interest in Shakespeare in original pronunciation. In 2005, the Globe went on to produce six performances of Troilus and Cressida in original pronunciation. Since then, there have been many further productions of Shakespeare in original pronunciation, including A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2010 by the University of Kansas and Twelfth Night in 2012 by the American Theatre of Actors. In April 2013, Bangor University's ROSTRA performed As You Like It in original pronunciation under the supervision of David Crystal. Motivations Shakespeare's Early Modern English was a time of great linguistic change for the English language. One change that was then taking place was the Great Vowel Shift, which changed the pronunciation of long vowels. Many words of Early Modern English were pronounced differently from today's standard pronunciation of Modern English. According to linguist David Crystal, Shakespeare in Original Pronunciation is "Shakespeare as hopefully he would have heard it.... It sounds raw and from the heart, which is very different from the way I think Shakespeare has been performed for the last half century or so." Also, audiences hearing Shakespeare in contemporary pronunciation often miss hearing rhymes and puns that worked well in Early Modern English. On the other hand, Laura Lodewyck, Assistant Professor of Theatre at North Central College, comments that "there are limits to the OP enterprise. Some texts, for instance, may be better suited to OP performance than others." Examples Pun An example of a Shakespearean pun that no longer works in Modern English comes from the prologue of Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, lines 5-6: From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life In Modern English, the word "lines" does not carry the double meaning of the Early Modern English, when the line–loin merger was present; both lines and loins were pronounced as . Thus, Modern English audiences miss the pun. Another example is the pronunciation of "hour", as in As You Like It: And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe. And then