FOUR STARS
THE stage at the Globe
is beginning to take on a reddish hue this year thanks to the amount
of blood being spilled on it.
So far copious amounts
have been shed in productions of Titus Andronicus and Anthony and
Cleopatra but this is being added to thanks to Julius Caesar which
has just opened at the Bankside theatre.
Directed by Dominic
Dromgoole the action starts way before the bell goes thanks to Roman
musicians and entertainers who mill about outside the theatre. The
audience even gets a chance to see Mark Anthony run a circuit of the
courtyard before the curtain goes up.
It all sets the scene
for a brilliant and hugely entertaining production of Shakespeare's
political play which charts the rise of Mark Anthony and the fall of
Julius Caesar and all the bickering and political posturing in
between.
The quality of the
production stems from the brilliance of the actors and the way they
deliver the text.
However, credit too to
the stage itself - the Globe is the perfect place for this play - it
has the space for the actors to roam around and it allows for both
Mark Anthony and Brutus to deliver their addresses after the
assassination of Caesar to the Roman people - us, the audience, most
of whom are looking up at them from the yard.
Tom McKay gives an
assured performance as the smug and self assured Brutus - the man who
thinks is arrogant enough to believe he is right all the time yet
makes the wrong decision at every turn.
George Irving gives
Caesar a steely arrogance and with just enough arrogance and menace.
Luke Thompson is great
as Mark Anthony - initially seen as drunk after a night on the tiles,
but transforming into an impressive orator.
Elsewhere Christopher
Logan as the somewhat camp, gossipy Casca was a joy and Katy Stephens
was brilliant as both Calpurnia and one of the citizens who heckles
from amongst the groundlings.
Julius Caesar is on at
the Globe, Bankside until October 11. Tickets from £5. Visit
www.shakespearesglobe.com or call the box office on 020 7401 9919
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