©Helen Maybanks

Following a short tour to schools around the country, the Royal Shakespeare Company and KPPL bring their revival of the 2012 Donmar Warehouse production of Julius Caesar, intelligently abridged to ninety minutes with an all-female cast. This multi-layered production stands on its own as a successful, no-interval adaptation of Shakespeare’s riveting play. It has been developed with the input of female prisoners, with whom the creative team have workshopped the production, with the specific intention of creating a work that offers a voice to those who may feel they are never heard; to the oppressed and repressed, to give hope where there otherwise is none, and to give a break to those who really need one in order to start their lives afresh.

©Helen Maybanks

The multi-layers go further with the structure of having a play within a play; nothing new about that concept, but in this instance, it’s framed as women prisoners staging the play here and now, at the Other Place in Stratford, having been bussed in from their prison under the watchful eyes of their stern prison officers. In the 1960s the RSC had a major hit with Peter Weiss’ Marat/Sade, another play within a play this time located in an asylum where the inmates stage a production which eventually gets out of hand, the onlooking warders failing to control their residents as they anarchically take over the building. In this Julius Caesar, there’s no question that the prisoners will ever take control. The slightest liberty is instantly crushed, and the warders don’t even allow them to finish the final scene; the coach has come to take them back to prison and there’s no scope for debate. The two productions create an interesting comparison; that joyous freedom of expression of the 1960s has been replaced by enforced authoritarian restriction in the 2020s. So much for the inexorable rise of liberal progress; there’s still a lot of work to be done.

©Helen Maybanks

As a First Encounters production, it’s also aimed at a younger audience – it has a recommended age of eleven or older – to attract younger eyes and ears to the wonders of Shakespeare and continue to give him an audience in the years to come. I think eleven is a little on the young side for this show, but Julius Caesar is a superb choice for a first encounter with the Bard, as it contains – from a modern perspective – some of Shakespeare’s most accessible language, including some of his very best lines, a gripping story and relatable characters. I’m sure that over the centuries people have felt that this play about a Roman emperor, written in 1599, very much remains a play for today. I bet I’m not the only person who saw Jackie Clune’s portrayal of Caesar as a smart, fair haired, charismatic crowd-controlling leader and didn’t think of the young Donald Trump. Caveat suffragator.

©Helen Maybanks

Phyllida Lloyd’s production is electric to watch; the energetic ensemble give a convincing portrayal of mob culture, with Carolina Valdés’ movement direction outstandingly suggesting the chaos and confusion of the crowd and their refusal to lie down. The story progresses at pace but never feels rushed. There’s excellent use of modern tech; a DJ manipulates the crowd and orchestrates the gunshots, and some camera work on screen accentuates the modern twist. These make a telling contrast with the very un-tech representation of the conspirators dipping their hands in Caesar’s blood, emerging from the carcass with red washing-up gloves in an ironic reminder of society’s view of women’s traditional role.

©Helen Maybanks

Flashes of dramatic inventiveness create enjoyable highlight moments, such as Cinna the poet being played by a last-minute understudy, Brutus losing his temper at noisy extras, Caesar’s assassination taking place in the middle of the stalls – much to the amusement and discomfort of the patrons seated around him – and the representation of Brutus’ tent scene as a drug-induced trip with the help of Zeynep Kepekli’s inventive lighting design. However, I’m not sure Caesar lullabying Brutus with Always on my Mind would mean much to the eleven plus cohort at which this production is aimed – especially given how creatively Daniel Evans’ recent As You Like It used Raye’s Where is my Husband! It also felt odd that once Caesar had been killed and his body removed, there were no sound effects of the crowd outside’s reaction – when crowd sounds had earlier added so much veracity.

©Helen Maybanks

My main criticism would be that, particularly in the earlier scenes, I felt there was a tendency towards declamation in some of the actors’ deliveries; more recitation rather than really digging into the characters. That said, the performances are powerful throughout – Harriet Walter commands every scene as Brutus, with a powerful portrayal of a good noble man in the ultimate moral dilemma, and her scenes with co-conspirator Cassius – a riveting performance by Jenny Jules – are vivid and thought-provoking. Jackie Clune is terrific as the hearty, brash, conceited Caesar, mixing the character’s sudden moments of anger with his alarming faux bonhomie. Leah Harvey’s clear, simple delivery as Mark Antony creates an excellent contrast with the intricate thoughts of the likes of Cassius and Brutus, Jennifer Joseph finds some comic opportunities in the role of Trebonius and Darcy Dixon’s Lucius is a refreshing study of loyalty and kindness; but the whole cast give tremendous performances.

©Helen Maybanks

As a first encounter with Shakespeare, this would give a young person an excellent introduction to the play and its questions about power, leadership, loyalty, and morality and the lessons we can learn for our lives today. The run continues at RSC’s Other Place until 28^th November.

Four They’re Jolly Good Fellows!