Julius Caesar: RSC: Stratford

[poliphilo]

I know Julius Caesar pretty well- I studied it for "O" level and acted in a couple of schoolboy productions- once as Mark Antony and once as one of those interchangeable soldiers who scurry on and off in the final act  (Volumnius, I think) - but this was the first time I'd seen it done by pros.

It wasn't very good. The first time director- hoping to impress I suppose (we've all done it)- smothered the play in back projections and ambient sound. We learnt later from an RSC insider that the actors hate having to perform against all that technical- and lame-arsed whizz-bangery, that Sam Troughton (who plays  Brutus) won't give interviews because he's so spitting mad- and that he and John Mackay (Cassius) had an artistic falling out and weren't speaking to one another until their womenfolk ganged up on them and banged their heads together.

But you can learn things about a play from even a bad production that you won't get from the page.  One thing  I learned is that J.C. is as full of ghosts, portents, omens and prophetic dreams as Macbeth- and a  second is that the final two acts can be a real drag- especially if your Brutus and Cassius lack chemistry.

Greg Hicks played Caesar as a fidgety, self-obsessed celeb. He was good. So was Darrell D'Silva as Mark Antony.  Mackay's weedy but hysterically macho Cassius didn't convince me, but I won't forget it.  The heart of the play- the murder and its immediate aftermath- is director-proof.

Comments

[shullie.livejournal.com]

The last time I managed to go to the RSC was over 15 years ago, when I was 'in' Church... We had a workparty of Evenagelical Americans from the same domination come over - like missionaries, they brought funds to help the church to 'do 'up' the church hall, and did most of the work too. They stayed with church fmailies, and the church took them to see a variety of British History and Culture sites as a 'thank you' - I know that the church paid a fortune for tickets to see 'As You Like It'... so much so that there was no way I could have afforded to go, however, I managed to get in for £4 on the day... on a standby :), much to the disgust of a couple of board memebers...and I managed to get a seat in the interval. The poor Americans, on the whole, didn't actually understand a word of it... It was also half day closing too.... and most of Stratford was closed and so we ended up eating @ MaccyD's...

May have to think about going again.. and see what we can get on standby...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The RSC is going through a dodgy patch right now. We've seen four plays in less than a year and only one of them- the David Tennant Hamlet- was outstanding.

The company insider- who gave us the behind the scenes dope on Julius Caesar- says there's a lot of unhappiness and disaffection about.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

Just a silly question: "O" level? Does that stand for something akin to "OWLs"?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't know. Probably. It's an exam you sit in your early to mid teens.

[sovay]

One thing I learned is that J.C. is as full of ghosts, portents, omens and prophetic dreams as Macbeth- and a second is that the final two acts can be a real drag- especially if your Brutus and Cassius lack chemistry.

The only production of Julius Caesar I've seen is the 1953 film with James Mason and John Gielgud, which I recommend very much. (It has Latin graffiti!) The second half of the play holds together completely on their chemistry; they are a doubled pair who change places, shadow and shadow, once the action shifts from philosophy and politics to the fields of Philippi. If they're just strangers on a train, none of that mirroring makes sense.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it. I should.

Mason and Gielgud are two of my very favourite actors. I seem to remember reading- probably in one of Gielgud's collections of theatrical anecdotes- that Gielgud credited Mason with teaching him the niceties of film acting.

Ailz tells me that last Friday was Mason's 100th birthday.

[sovay]

that Gielgud credited Mason with teaching him the niceties of film acting.

Oh, nice.

Ailz tells me that last Friday was Mason's 100th birthday.

I'm sorry I didn't know in time to observe it!

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

I read JC eons ago and barely remember it, but I could still appreciate and chuckle along with your commentary. You have quite a way with words.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Gielgud's early film performances are very stagey. Then he wised up. I think he was a very fine film actor in the second half of his career.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

Julius Caesar is a hard play to mess up entirely. It's basically a political thriller. Trust the words that Shakespeare wrote and they'll carry you through.