Julius Caesar
Director: Brant Eustice
Theatre Guild
Fri 11 Aug
Until Sat 19 Aug



Julius Caesar is alive and well and haunting the Little Theatre at U of A. Novice yet accomplished director Brant Eustice set this evergreen in our times to once again emphasise how Shakespeare's take on politics, power and retribution resonates in our time, and indeed, likely for all time. Dressed in dark business suits, the conspirators and the emperor inhabit a post-modern environment of stark steel-grey rectangular columns and beams. Cassandra Backler's set is gently and intelligently lit by Ben Flett who uses crimson with contrasting green and soft yellow to enhance the emotional broil.

Eustice cuts to the chase and after an initial urging by the furtive Cassius to the loyal Brutus, his version of the faceless back room men move in and out of the shadows to discuss the dangers of unbridled power and Caesar's impending coronation. The pace quickens toward the frenzied assassination with a spot of vicious overkill. Although nearly all of the action belongs to the men, the entreaties of Portia (Zo Poppyjon) and Calpurnia (Sharon Malujlo) to their respective husbands are the most poignant scenes in this production. In the second act, the frenzied citizens of Rome placed around the amphitheatre put the audience in the play with their taunts and calls during Mark Antony's famous eulogy. One by one, the main perpetrators populate the stage with their bodies as Mark Antony's alliance with the general Octavius gains control of the city.

While the first act seemed the most practiced, the relationship between Bart Csorba's Cassius and Michael Allen's Brutus only grew stronger. Cassius' self-assured course contrasted with Brutus' weariness in having to choose between his state and his friend.

Doubt over their mutual steadfastness and their growing realisation that it was all going wrong were tangible. Gary George fronted with a reflective Casca and Aldo Longobardi seemed an obsequious Decius. Indeed, each of the actors within the conspiracy worked their scripts to render a plethora of persona. Tony Sampson boomed with a powerful voice as the distressed and angry Mark Antony but lacked urgency as the avenger. John Edge presented a dignified Caesar ruling in decline and by hubris. In the second act, the director might have made a more tragic figure out of a naked corpse than a dressed one.

Eustice moved his actors purposefully around the stage and ensured appropriate gestures that accompanied the crisp text of most of his principals. However, more often than I can endure I was presented with a speaking backside. Sam Jozeps beat out a driving score with his drum kit that set the quickstep pace and heightened the tension. Brant Eustice and his creative team have produced a consummate theatrical experience with an accomplished attunement of lights, design, sound, and performance.

David Grybowski