![]() ![]() Am going to start with those good things. There are elements worthy of praise, but these praise-worthy elements are also mixed with bury-worthy elements in a never offensive but rather bland production. Of the productions seen of 'Julius Caesar', this is neither one of the best (the 1953 film with Marlon Brando is highly recommended) or worst (the Charlton Heston version is not good at all, though Heston himself is great in it). They have done far better productions than this 'Julius Caesar', which generally left me cold sadly. Despite not liking every live streamed production of theirs, Royal Shakespeare Company frequently showcase fantastic talent and when it comes to a company that specialises in Shakespeare, it and The Globe are hard to beat. The play may not be one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, but it does benefit hugely from its compelling supporting characters and powerful (quotable too) speeches. Royal Shakespeare Company's 2017 production of 'Julius Caesar' could have been good. This is a rare chance to see some of Britain’s best actors unleashed on one of William Shakespeare’s most adrenaline-fuelled, epic creations.If that sounds harsh, that is in no way the intent. Glimpses of the raw, maddening emotion underneath the cold surface of the first half appear when Cassius strips to the waist during a thunderstorm and Brutus’ wife Portia (the brilliant Adjoa Andoh) lifts her nightdress to reveal a self-inflicted wound on her leg.īut is in the second half – kicked off in triumphal form by Mark Anthony’s (Ray Feardon’s) tub-thumping “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech – that the play really comes into its own. In the programme, which is well worth getting, the director of the Royal African Society Richard Dowden, recalls a friend who once told him that if Shakespeare were still alive, he would have more in common with an African than someone from the Western world.Īnd from the moment you sit down at your seat to the sounds of an African band playing live on stage as members of a crowd barter, laugh and dance, the setting of the play immediately clicks into place. This production invites you right into the heart of an African dictatorship and lets you watch as Caesar’s flattering, seemingly loyal generals secretly conspire to stab him to death.Īnd there is more than a little of the paranoia and unintentional comedy of the late Muammar Gaddafi in actor Jeffery Kissoon’s portrayal of the Roman general.Īfter the deed is done the tide of public favour turns against the conspirators and, led by Caius Cassius (Cyril Nri) and Marcus Brutus (Paterson Joseph of Peepshow fame), they are forced to flee into the wilderness where they transform into rifle-wielding guerrilla rebels. ![]() The play combines all of the playwright’s great themes of loyalty, love, ambition, madness, war and – of course – murder and, in the hands of director Gregory Doran and his cast of seasoned actors, such age-old themes are lent a startling relevance. Set in an African dictatorship with an all-black cast, this production of Shakespeare’s epic Julius Caesar was always going to be different. THIS week marks the return of the Royal Shakespeare Company to Cardiff’s New Theatre after a long gap. ![]()
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