 Thomas Otway 's The History and Fall of Caius Marius , one of the more extreme of the Restoration adaptations of Shakespeare , debuted in 1680 . The scene is shifted from Renaissance Verona to ancient Rome ; Romeo is Marius , Juliet is Lavinia , the feud is between patricians and plebeians ; Juliet / Lavinia wakes from her potion before Romeo / Marius dies . Otway 's version was a hit , and was acted for the next seventy years . His innovation in the closing scene was even more enduring , and was used in adaptations throughout the next 200 years : Theophilus Cibber 's adaptation of 1744 , and David Garrick 's of 1748 both used variations on it . These versions also eliminated elements deemed inappropriate at the time . For example , Garrick 's version transferred all language describing Rosaline to Juliet , to heighten the idea of faithfulness and downplay the love @-@ at @-@ first @-@ sight theme . In 1750 a " Battle of the Romeos " began , with Spranger Barry and Susannah Maria Arne ( Mrs. Theophilus Cibber ) at Covent Garden versus David Garrick and George Anne Bellamy at Drury Lane . 
