Twitter Romeo and Juliet play underway

A troupe of young actors at the U.K.'s Royal Shakespeare Company is presenting an update of the Bard's Romeo and Juliet to the Twitter generation, through an online performance rolling out 140 characters at a time.

The actors began presenting Such Tweet Sorrow, created by writers Bethan Marlow and Tim Wright, on Twitter on Sunday.

The participants will post tweets and respond to queries, in character, as part of their modernized and improvised version of Shakespeare's tragic love story, as it plays out over the next five weeks.

"Just got home from school! A day full of boring maths lessons!! Boys at shoool are SO minging!! Seriously i so can't wait to find my Cullen," read a recent tweet from Juliet Capulet, posting at @julietcap16.

Portrayed by actress Charlotte Wakefield, the youngest Capulet sounds like a typical teen, posting about her crush on Twilight actor Robert Pattison, complaining about homework and chatting about her upcoming 16th birthday.

Meanwhile, a libertine posting as @mercuteio (portrayed by actor Ben Ashton) recently noted: "Receptionist gave me her digits they don't call me merCUTEio for nothing. On way to pick up romeo to decide what to do tonight."

The project received financing from a digital investment fund and the RSC has teamed up with Mudlark, a multimedia entertainment firm, for the project.

The RSC's goal is always "to bring actors and audiences closer together," said artistic director Michael Boyd. "We look forward to seeing how people engage with this new way of playing."