Julius Caesar

Could Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar be one step too far for this accomplished village group? Not a bit of it! Talented Director Teresa Encke has sensibly taken a large pair of scissors to Shakespeare’s script, cutting out a lot of dialogue but keeping in all the best bits. In my opinion, this is something from which all of his plays would benefit. By using modern dress, a few gender swaps and a lot of doubling up of characters, she has breathed new life into the play, which I vaguely remember studying at school, and made it possible for a small group to perform it, while simultaneously making it much more accessible than many a professional Shakespeare production I’ve seen.

The ultra-simple black set was just right. With Caesar’s throne centre, together with wide steps and clever use of the floor of the hall and side stage extensions,  rapid transitions between scenes and locations were possible, ensuring that the play progressed at a cracking pace. The modern costumes worked extremely well and I especially liked the choice of modern army camouflage gear and weaponry for all the soldiers, including Caesar, with their names helpfully displayed on their breast pockets. Lighting was kept suitably simple and there were some good sound effects – the drumming of the approaching army was particularly atmospheric.

Rowenna Gordon, as Cassius, led the conspiritors and showed him to be a very strong and forthright character, nicely matched by Martin Kille as the more placatory Brutus. Both used their experience to bring these characters to life. Poor Caesar, a nicely understated performance by Tony Smith, was so disconnected from the real mood of the people, he didn’t really stand a chance against them. His wife, Calpurnia, was beautifully portrayed by Bobbi Tomkins – a small role, but her facial expressions were a joy to watch. James Batchelor was outstanding as Mark Anthony. His performances are always compelling, but his rendition of the manipulative “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech was spot-on, ostensibly justifying the actions of Brutus and the assassins, but actually portraying Caesar in such a positive light that the crowd would turn against them.

The only part of the adaptation which, to my mind, didn’t work too well was the killing of Caesar with a single gunshot – this jarred with the subsequent mentions of multiple stabbings in Mark Anthony’s speech. This minor quibble aside, I can only applaud the huge amount of thought and hard work that had obviously gone into creating and presenting this production.

Throughout, the Shakespearean verse was spoken very naturally by all the actors, making it easy to comprehend. Crowd scenes were also well managed and played with gusto, making you feel that a lot more people were present. Ease of understanding was also helped by the most interesting and informative programme, which ensured that I learnt far more about the background to the play than I ever did at school!

Congratulations to Teresa Encke and everyone involved, on stage and behind the scenes. You took on quite a challenge and emerged triumphant. You made Shakespeare interesting, exciting and – above all – understandable!

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