The casting in Julius Caesar is spot on, and this is just one of many things BMH get just right in their latest production. This is their 20th year, and for most of those they’ve been in residence in the atmospheric and foreboding confines of Oxford Castle and the prison’s towers. The setting certainly suits The Capitol.
Not knowing this play, I thought billing Shakespeare as a political thriller might be erring towards populist advertising; I was wrong. House of Cards has nothing on this heady mix of ambition, high ideals, personal gain, the fickle nature of popular support, lynch mobs, and a hefty dose of satire among the grim events. (Spoiler alert: this is a tragedy, don’t expect anyone to get a happy ending!)
It helps that I really like BMH’s approach to Shakespeare: neither rigidly “The Bard is sacred” nor “throw the bard out the window; let’s shoot everyone”, but a happy middle ground. They hack, ad lib, and soundtrack in any way that serves the play. The result is easily accessible, non-threatening, poetic, funny and wise.
So the casting: many of the actors are women, and they’re playing female versions of the characters. Caesar (Alison Cook) is a majestic and astute politician. Cassius is a luminous Cate Nunn, anecdotal, allowed to show emotion and be swayed by personal feeling. Cinna (Catherine Woolley) is a sharp and cynical persuader of people. They do slightly confuse Shakespeare’s point about Brutus’ wife Portia trying to prove she’s hard enough to know the truth, despite being a woman, and I think I’d have been tempted to amend slightly to “despite not being a politician”.
But that aside the female conspirators do bring a different nuance than the male. Brutus (Ed Blagrove) is a high idealist, so pure of heart he’s willing to injure his own household. Casca (Alastair Nunn) is an informal and care-less sort of guy, and plays his part beautifully (even if I can’t unsee traces of Malvolio flickering through from last year, just as Douglas Spafford’s Lucius could be Andrew Aguecheek’s great great ancestor!). Guy Grimsley plays Antony, channeling David Tennant (perhaps it’s the sneakers). He gets the greatest scene of all, at once rabble-rousing and rabble-mocking, and he really works it.
The design is gorgeous, red, maroon and black costumes giving way to battle fatigues. If part of us longed for Napoleonic era dress, something more like Sharpe’s crew, in differing colours, it would only be to go better with the swords. But both the costumes and fight scenes were a smooth and effective part of the storytelling.
Outdoor theatre has its challenges (having to worry about a heatwave, flooding or lightning strikes are par for the course if not usually all three on the same day) and one is the lack of anywhere to hide. How to get a dead body off the stage with no blackout? How to stage a ghost’s appearance? BMH have answers, and there’s no trickery, just really good acting. Caesar’s dead eyes boring into the living will haunt me for a while yet.