Friends, Romans, countrymen, I regretfully come to bury Caesar not to praise him. Shakespeare’s play is one of the most exciting political thrillers ever written; or it can be. Unfortunately, Lucy Bailey’s dreary production, is sadly under-cast and miscast and there is no tension whatsoever in the opening scenes and the text doesn’t come to life until the botched assassination. Some of the costumes make the actors look as if they are appearing in drag.
Bailey begins with Romulus and Remus snarling and fighting like animals. (Well, they wouldn’t they, having been raised by a she-wolf?) Darrell D’Silva’s Antony is too old and not athletic enough to be taking part in the Olympics. He already looks like the ruffian he became in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Sam Troughton is far too young to be a convincing Brutus. He looks as if he is still at college. It is difficult to imagine that this is the man the conspirators absolutely need to have on their side if they are to win over the Roman citizens. Greg Hicks, ideal for Cassius, is playing Caesar.
The video projected crowd scenes are a distraction during the orations in the Forum. The frenzied mob is so obviously not there; they are merely a filmed backdrop, a multiplied frieze behind the speakers, out of sync with what is actually being said on stage. The result is Brutus and Antony have nobody to engage with.