Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar is my favourite Shakespeare play. I first saw it in 2011, and at the time, it was so relevant. Now in 2018, it still feels so relevant.
I saw it at the Sydney Opera House two weeks ago. Bell Shakespeare has a new touring production. The reviews have been lukewarm, but I wanted to see it anyway because (1) it's my fave, and (2) diverse casting! And I'm glad I went, because it totally blew me away.
Last time, they genderswapped Cassius and Octavius, which was fascinating and compelling. This time, they genderswapped Mark Antony, Octavius, Casca, Trebonius, Messala, Pindarus, and the Soothsayer. They also had a multicultural cast of actors, which was really cool.
Last time, they dressed everyone in suits, like Parliament. This time, they made everything kind of industrial modern. The set was just a scaffolding of metal bars and wooden planks, on wheels, which I guess is easy to transport on tour. The mob of Romans was dressed in hoodies, with paper masks of Caesar's face, a bit like Anonymous.
The costuming of the main characters was pleasingly individual, a mix of formal and casual. (For the first time, I could tell all the conspirators apart.) Caesar wore jeans, a shirt, and a jacket draped over his shoulders like a cape. In the race scene, Antony wore athletic gear and running shoes. In the battle scenes, some characters wore camouflage fatigues.
Caesar (Kenneth Ransom) was magnanimous and ambitious. He was played by a black actor, which was pretty cool, though one review noted that this made the assassination scene somewhat uncomfortable. It was kind of ameliorated by the conspirators who stabbed him also being a diverse group?
Mark Antony (Sara Zwangobani) was awesome. There was a huge dramatic build up to her speech about Caesar, and right after she got up on the podium and began, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears", was when we cut to interval. What a cliffhanger.
Brutus (James Lugton) was suitably noble and tormented. (But I have always been Team Antony.)
Cassius (Nick Simpson-Deeks) was suitably cunning and tormented. (And is it just me, but why do Brutus and Cassius always have such intense chemistry?)
Casca (Ghenoa Gela) was hilarious. She had great comic timing. When she reenacted Antony offering Caesar the crown, and Caesar refusing it ever more reluctantly, I had no idea it could be so funny.
Octavius (Emily Havea) was a stiff and obnoxious brat, and I loved her delivery of, "If you dare fight today, come to the field."
Cinna the poet (Jemwel Danao) was clearly not Cinna the conspirator (Russell Smith). (Some productions cast the same actor, which I think muddies the point.)
This play has the best quotes:
"He doth bestride the narrow world, like a Colossus."
"Men at some time are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
"The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes."
"Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war."
"Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more."
"The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones."
"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune."
Still one of my favourite quotes: Cassius, Act 3, Scene 1: "How many ages hence shall this our lofty scene be acted over in states unborn and accents yet unknown?" Especially since many of the cast let their Australian accents shine through.
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, where there are
comments. Comment here or there.
I saw it at the Sydney Opera House two weeks ago. Bell Shakespeare has a new touring production. The reviews have been lukewarm, but I wanted to see it anyway because (1) it's my fave, and (2) diverse casting! And I'm glad I went, because it totally blew me away.
Last time, they genderswapped Cassius and Octavius, which was fascinating and compelling. This time, they genderswapped Mark Antony, Octavius, Casca, Trebonius, Messala, Pindarus, and the Soothsayer. They also had a multicultural cast of actors, which was really cool.
Last time, they dressed everyone in suits, like Parliament. This time, they made everything kind of industrial modern. The set was just a scaffolding of metal bars and wooden planks, on wheels, which I guess is easy to transport on tour. The mob of Romans was dressed in hoodies, with paper masks of Caesar's face, a bit like Anonymous.
The costuming of the main characters was pleasingly individual, a mix of formal and casual. (For the first time, I could tell all the conspirators apart.) Caesar wore jeans, a shirt, and a jacket draped over his shoulders like a cape. In the race scene, Antony wore athletic gear and running shoes. In the battle scenes, some characters wore camouflage fatigues.
Caesar (Kenneth Ransom) was magnanimous and ambitious. He was played by a black actor, which was pretty cool, though one review noted that this made the assassination scene somewhat uncomfortable. It was kind of ameliorated by the conspirators who stabbed him also being a diverse group?
Mark Antony (Sara Zwangobani) was awesome. There was a huge dramatic build up to her speech about Caesar, and right after she got up on the podium and began, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears", was when we cut to interval. What a cliffhanger.
Brutus (James Lugton) was suitably noble and tormented. (But I have always been Team Antony.)
Cassius (Nick Simpson-Deeks) was suitably cunning and tormented. (And is it just me, but why do Brutus and Cassius always have such intense chemistry?)
Casca (Ghenoa Gela) was hilarious. She had great comic timing. When she reenacted Antony offering Caesar the crown, and Caesar refusing it ever more reluctantly, I had no idea it could be so funny.
Octavius (Emily Havea) was a stiff and obnoxious brat, and I loved her delivery of, "If you dare fight today, come to the field."
Cinna the poet (Jemwel Danao) was clearly not Cinna the conspirator (Russell Smith). (Some productions cast the same actor, which I think muddies the point.)
This play has the best quotes:
"He doth bestride the narrow world, like a Colossus."
"Men at some time are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
"The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes."
"Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war."
"Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more."
"The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones."
"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune."
Still one of my favourite quotes: Cassius, Act 3, Scene 1: "How many ages hence shall this our lofty scene be acted over in states unborn and accents yet unknown?" Especially since many of the cast let their Australian accents shine through.
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, where there are
comments. Comment here or there.