Groundling
Theatre Company and Crow’s Theatre offer a production of Julius Caesar that is
original, powerful, superbly directed and terrifically acted. It is done in the
small Guloien Theatre on Carlaw Avenue which has been converted into a
theatre-in-the-round that gives the play immediacy and muscle.
The
production is not entirely faithful to Shakespeare but most of the changes and
additions add to the effectiveness of the performance. It is done in modern
dress and opens in a broadcast studio where they are reporting the return of
the conqueror Caesar. The reporters give background about the holiday on which
Caesar returns (the Lupercalia) and generate the type of excitement and
anticipation of a sports team’s cup victory parade. The scene in the original
play with the tribunes Flavius and Marullus berating the commoners on the
street is omitted with no great loss.
Jim Mezon as Julius Caesar. Photo: Dahlia Katz
Director
Chris Abraham in fact does the entire play with eleven actors (some of the best
around) who perform a couple of dozen roles out of the possible 49. He even
adds a couple of characters like Coriolanus and Felix. Diego Matamoros, for
example, handles five roles quite handily.
There
are handguns and semi-automatics, heavily armed soldiers and a sense of
immediacy that make the play appear new and exciting. And it is.
In this production, Casca shoots first and Caesar falls down. The other assassins do the same. The last one to partake in the assassination is Brutus and Caesar utters the famous words “Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar.” Brutus shoots Caesar who is already on the ground. Would it not be preferable for Caesar to be staggering after the first shots and then to stagger towards Brutus and realize that his friend Brutus, the man who says he loves him, is part of the gang. It is the ultimate expression of ingratitude and treachery. It is at this point that Caesar falls dead. What counts for him in the last moments of his life is not the mortal wounds delivered by the politicians but the ultimate betrayal by his friend.
Jim
Mezon as Caesar is supremely arrogant, extravagant and Mussolinian in his
showmanship. People with common sense and respect for republican ideals find
his egomania unacceptable and getting rid of him appears like a good idea.
Dion
Johnstone plays the principled and upright Brutus. A superb portrayal of a man
who wants to save Rome from the ambition of a friend whom he happens to love
but not as much as he loves Rome.
Dion Johnstone as Brutus and Moya O'Connell as Cassius. Photo: Dahlia Katz
The
conniving, even slithery, Cassius is played by Moya O’Connell. She is a woman,
of course, and the characterization of the jealous and envious person is
brilliant.
Graham
Abbey has all the attributes for a great Mark Antony. He has the athletic
build, the forceful presence and the vocal intonation of the man who turns the
Roman mob into a rebellious and destructive force.
Sarah
Afful deserves kudos for her performance in three very different roles. She
plays Calpurnia, Caesar’s frightened wife, the conspirator Cinna and the
egotistical Octavius who seems born to arrogance.
Michelle
Giroux plays the marvelous wife of Brutus, Portia. She is a noble lady and a
sympathetic wife and Giroux performs her superbly. She also plays the minor
roles of Popilius and Varro.
Walter
Borden lends his sonorous voice to several characters as do Jani Lauzon and
Ryan Cunningham with creditable results.
The
heads of animals worn for brief moments by some of the actors, did nothing for
me. The sound effects by Thomas Ryder Payne and the Set and Lighting bu Lorenzo
Savoini were all dramatic and to the point.
The
additional writing by Zack Russell tightened Shakespeare’s text and was mostly
positive except for the bit at the end. The original play ends with a
magnanimous and eloquent eulogy of Brutus by Mark Antony. He is talking about
his enemy yet refers to him as “the noblest Roman of them all.” The sometimes
childish Octavius orders that Brutus be given an honourable burial befitting a
soldier. They both strike notes of grace and that is where the play ends and so
should this exceptional production.
_______________
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare in a
production by Groundling Theatre Company and Crow’s Theatre continues until February
2, 2020 at the Streetcar Crowsnest Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
M4M 2T1. http://crowstheatre.com/
James Karas is the Senior Editor - Culture of The Greek Press
No comments:
Post a Comment