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Julius Caesar

The Space

Reviewed – 11th March 2020

★★★★

“an ambitious and slick production”

Produced by Conor Gray and directed by Kate Bauer, a modern rendition of Shakespeare’s historical tragedy Julius Caesar is the latest production from theatre company The UnDisposables. Set in Rome in 44 BC, Julius Caesar follows the moral dilemma of the Roman senator Brutus (Sarah Dean) over joining the conspiracy led by Cassius (Rachel Wilkes) to murder the state’s popular leader Julius Caesar (Isobel Hughes). With the support of Casca (Georgia Andrews), Cinna (Jake Saunders), Metellus Cimber (Esther Joy MacKay) and Decimus Brutus (Rory Gradon), Cassius and Brutus succeed in their goal before they are plunged into civil war against Caesar’s right hand man Mark Antony (Room Sikdar-Rahman) and Caesar’s adopted son, Octavius (Grace Hussy-Burd).

The UnDisposables’ production aims to draw parallels between Rome’s civil unrest and the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion’s protest activities across the globe. The conspirators here are not just trying to protect the abstract values of liberty and freedom, but the planet itself. Before the play begins, the cast parade noisily around the stage holding signs about Caesar, and, reminiscent of the group’s protest in Leicester Square last December, all don fluorescent yellow hi vis jackets marked with an ‘R’ for Rome.

This is an intriguing comparison to make, but this theme is unfortunately not really explored beyond such superficial references. There is no real suggestion that the characters are concerned about a climate crisis. More props and alternative costumes – gas or face masks, dirtied clothes, near-empty water contains strewn across the stage – would certainly help to create a sense of imminent apocalypse. Rome’s descent into civil war could too be used more explicitly to reflect on the increasingly polarising nature of politics in contemporary society.

Hussy-Burd and Isobel Hughes are the standout performers. Hussy-Burd’s various roles are not major players, but she moves between them with great ease, shining best as Trebonius. Hughes has incredible gravitas as Caesar and commands the stage whenever she is present. It is a great shame that she is not a character in the second half of the performance. Wilkes, Dean and Andrews deliver their huge quantity of lines confidently with few mistakes or hesitations. There is also some fantastic choreography that all the cast execute well such as a perfectly in sync fighting sequence that serves to break up the narrative performance and provide some respite from the long speeches.

The audience are seated surrounding the stage, and space between and behind their chairs allow the cast to weave amongst them. The stage itself is largely bare, except for a few chairs that intermittently populate the space. A balcony overlooks the main stage space which is used in the latter half of the performance for more dramatic scenes. This space could certainly be used earlier, especially in helping to establish Caesar’s power and hold over the populace. Protest signs – many with humorous slogans reminiscent of those which have gone viral on social media – decorate the theatre walls.

Ominous music and sound effects (Tom Triggs) play throughout the first half of the play as the action creeps towards Caesar’s assassination. A particularly effective moment is the loud, echoey voice that delivers Calphurnia’s premonition of Caesar’s death. The lighting (James Ireland) does not vary too much other than to denote day and night, and there are few props apart from some potato peelers as rather distracting substitutes for knives and the colourful signage.

The UnDisposables’ Julius Caesar is an ambitious and slick production and succeeds best in its acting and sound design, but more focus on drawing out their contemporary environmental themes will elevate this production to a new level.

Reviewed by Flora Doble

Photography by Phil Brooks

Julius Caesar

The Space until 21st March

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Me & My Doll | ★★ | May 2019

Mycorrhiza | ★★★ | May 2019

Holy Land | ★★★ | June 2019

Parenthood | ★★★½ | July 2019

Chekhov In Moscow | ★★★★ | August 2019

The Open | ★★★ | September 2019

Between Two Waves | ★★★ | October 2019

Gasping | ★★ | October 2019

The Prince Of Homburg | ★★★★ | December 2019

Us Two | ★★★ | January 2020

Click here to see our most recent reviews

Julius Caesar

Lion and Unicorn Theatre

Reviewed – 14th January 2020

★★½

“their rendition makes it apparent that you can no more rush the immortal words of Shakespeare than the overthrowing of a tyrannical despot”

Theatre company Mad Wolf aim to make Shakespeare ‘exciting, thrilling… and for everyone’ in their new one-act rendition of the playwright’s historical tragedy Julius Caesar.

Set in Rome in 44 BC, Julius Caesar, produced and directed by Gavin Richards, depicts the moral dilemma of the Roman senator Brutus (Matt Penson) over joining the conspiracy led by Cassius (Alex Bird) to murder Julius Caesar (Aimee Kember) to prevent him becoming dictator of Rome. Supported by Casca (Aimee Pollock) and Cinna (Jasmin Keshavarzi), Cassius and Brutus succeed in their goal before being thrust into civil war against one of Caesar’s greatest supporters Mark Antony (Niall Burns) and Caesar’s adopted son, Octavius (Keshavarzi).

The six actors move confidently between 19 different roles using basic costume changes – a new jacket, a dressing gown etc. – to mark out their new character. Bird is standout in his role as Cassius, adopting an uncomfortably wide stare and hunch that perfectly fit the senator’s shady persona. Kember is thoroughly commanding as Caesar but handles Portia’s sensitive moments with her husband Brutus delicately as well. Frustratingly, some nuances in speech and character are lost by the cast’s over tendency to scream their lines at any moment of heightened emotion.

Mad Wolf’s intentions with their condensed production are noble but there is unfortunately more loss than gain. The performance moves at an incredibly fast pace mainly because the waffling speeches and winding metaphors inherent to Shakespeare’s work have been cut from the script. There is little to no time to pause and reflect on the events that have unfolded, and hugely important moments like Caesar’s death go by in a flash. The omission of such drawn out dialogue certainly makes the play more digestible especially to someone who may not otherwise engage with Shakespeare, but it also makes everything far more confusing due to the lack of exposition. Mad Wolf would have perhaps done better to edit or rewrite the script for clarity rather than simply take out huge chunks of text that are integral to the play’s narrative and rhythm.

The back wall of the theatre is covered in Lord Kitchener-style ‘Caesar Wants You’ posters, many of which are illustrated with graffiti declaring ‘Caesar is King!’ Empty sleeping bags, cardboard rubbish and coats litter the edges of the stage which the cast alternate between using as props and, rather oddly, as something to hide under or appear from when exiting or entering a scene respectively. This direction does make the theatre’s simple space more dynamic by not restricting the cast to the one aisle exit but this oftentimes comes across as comical which is rather jarring considering the overall mood of the play.

The debris also presumably represents the hard times which Caesar was able to capitalise on to gain power, but this is never explicitly explained. The senators’ formal attire resembles that of modern-day politicians which suggests that the audience is to interpret some sort of parallel between this tale and contemporary society, though this is not explored either.

The lighting (Lewis Plumb) is good. Notable moments include flashing overhead lights timed with a thunder sound effect to resemble lightning and the slow fade to black except for a spotlight on one of the Caesar posters at the end of the performance.

Mad Wolf’s production of Julius Caesar sets out on a worthy mission to make the Bard of Avon more accessible. Unfortunately, their rendition makes it apparent that you can no more rush the immortal words of Shakespeare than the overthrowing of a tyrannical despot.

The Space

Reviewed – 11th March 2020

★★★★

“an ambitious and slick production”

The UnDisposables’ Julius Caesar is an ambitious and slick production and succeeds best in its acting and sound design, but more focus on drawing out their contemporary environmental themes will elevate this production to a new level.

Reviewed by Flora Doble

Photography by Phil Brooks

Julius Caesar

The Space until 21st March

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Lion and Unicorn Theatre

Reviewed – 14th January 2020

★★½

“their rendition makes it apparent that you can no more rush the immortal words of Shakespeare than the overthrowing of a tyrannical despot”

Theatre company Mad Wolf aim to make Shakespeare ‘exciting, thrilling… and for everyone’ in their new one-act rendition of the playwright’s historical tragedy Julius Caesar.

The lighting (Lewis Plumb) is good. Notable moments include flashing overhead lights timed with a thunder sound effect to resemble lightning and the slow fade to black except for a spotlight on one of the Caesar posters at the end of the performance.

Mad Wolf’s production of Julius Caesar sets out on a worthy mission to make the Bard of Avon more accessible. Unfortunately, their rendition makes it apparent that you can no more rush the immortal words of Shakespeare than the overthrowing of a tyrannical despot.

Reviewed by Flora Doble

Julius Caesar

Lion and Unicorn Theatre until 18th January

Previously reviewed at this venue: