Nothing says classy night at the Shakespeare theatre more than bloody murderous rampages on a stage. Add political turmoil, power struggles, conspiracies, morality, military propaganda and brainwashed mobs and you basically have a perfect play for Washington, DC.

Julius Caesar kicks of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Roman Repertory Symposium alongside Anthony and Cleopatra, which are part of the same epic story of Caesars assassination and Rome’s power struggle. Shakespeare set five of his plays in the Roman Empire and, being the history buff that he was, based them on actual historical events. Speculations arise if Shakespeare was comparing Rome’s fate to that of England at the time or if he was merely assuming England was the intellectual and historical heir to Rome. Either way, it’s an apt play to present at moments of political turmoil and unrest.

The performance begins with a freaky looking soothsayer receiving ill fated news about Caesar. Why are soothsayers always so weird looking? Trembling, gangly and with powder poured all over him, he sets off to warm Julius Caesar “beware the ides of March”. Clearly, Caesar doesn’t give a hoot about what some crazy man says. He just defeated his rival Pompey in battle- its Party time!!

In the meantime, a group of Roman senators are growing fearful and jealous of Caesars growing popularity and power, they are convinced he wants to become king and make Rome a Monarchy instead of the Republic it is. They decide the easiest solution is to assassinate him ( clearly this is the best solution) and thus free Rome of his powerful claws. Brutus is the only one who is hesitant but finally succumbs to the pressure from the other Senators, believing this would be the best thing for the Republic.

The next day Caesar ignores his wife’s bad dream and attends a Senate meeting where the conspirators indeed murder him. This scene was actually quite gruesome and scary. All of the Senators stab Caesar one by one as he writhes around the stage bloody, gasping for help. Probably of all the Shakespeare plays I have seen this year, this one was the most violent and grim. Caesars dead corpse laid on the ground as the Senators rejoice and dip their hands in his blood. Yes, his blood.

I was slightly alarmed.

Mark Antony, Caesars’ long time ally and friend (not J Lo’s husband) comes in a bit too late. The Senators actually wanted to kill him as well but Brutus restrained them. Instead of going into a rage over the murder, he shakes each Senators blood soaked hand and asks only to be able to speak at Caesars funeral. This seems innocent enough but Antony has other plans. He gives a heated speech about Caesar to the Roman citizens that get them worked up into a maniacal killing frenzy, wishing to avenge Caesars death. This is where the play gets even grimmer and scarier. A mob kills a poor poet who happens to have the same name as a Senator, again via stabbing.

What follows is a battle between Brutus and his men against Mark Antony and Caesars heir Octavius. Basically everyone dies or commits suicide by the end in misery and defeat. Antony and Octavius are victorious and the play ends in a To Be Continued fashion of the Roman Empire.

Director Davis Muse sets the play in the Roman era, complete with togas, sandals, swords and all the ancient Roman accessories your heart desires. This may seem normal but actually quite a lot of theatrical performances are set in more recent times, and so gives them a more modern, fresh sense. Julius Caesar stayed true to its history and so gave off a genuine and authentic feel.

Ominous red flags with Julius Caesars imprint adorn the walls and are unraveled dramatically again at the end. Every ounce of this performance oozes political drama. Now, this is a good and bad thing. The bad news is that this particular play is a bit dry if you ask me. Not that its not dramatic and exciting but there was just something missing- a magical element that I felt some of the previous plays possessed. I was left feeling that there could have been something more to add a bit of oomph to the serious plot. There was a live drummer on the second level of the stage, which added extra drama and a live musical element to the performance. However, the rest of the scenes were Spartan, with rhetoric dialogue dominating. This can be a bit tedious at times, especially when dealing with such sombre matter.

The good news is that the cast does an impeccable job of carrying out a stern political tragedy. Dan Kremer’s , Caesar, portentous ghost silhouette looms over Brutus in the last scene. His face determined and revealing, his body authoritarian; he exudes the air of a true ruler. However, the real focus of the play is between Cassius , played by Scott Parkinson, and Brutus, played by Tom Hammond. Cassius is the one who convinces Brutus to join the assassination. Brutus is a true Roman- loyal to the Republic. He is evidently torn between duty to the Republic and his duty to Caesar; Brutus is indeed in turmoil. He delivers a memorable performance and was generally engaging.

For some reason, I cannot hear well at the Harman Center. I do not know if it’s the acoustics of the venue or the actors not projecting enough, but this is the second time I had difficulty hearing and understanding what was being said.
With that said, this was all in all a good performance. Not the best one I have scene come out of STC but worth a trip over, especially if you are interested in politics and drama.

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