Just like the current political climate, Ancient Rome had its conspiracies. But the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar wasn’t just theory; it was a very real conspiracy.
Caesar’s rise to power is an epic tale without the final chapter, but there was plenty of intrigue for Shakespeare to render his dramatization of the struggle for power. It’s a work full of classic lines, like the Soothsayer’s warning “Beware the Ides of March” and “Et tu, Brute,” which Shakespeare used but didn’t coin.
The New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane presents “Julius Caesar” as the highlight of its summer series. It runs at Lupin Theater July 11-21.
The drama has many timely facets as powerful Romans vie for and try to limit the power of others.
“We use the words ‘conspiracy’ and ‘insurrection,' and they mean something very different than if we did this play 20 years ago,” says Salvatore Mannino, who is directing the show.
Shakespeare’s work focuses on a very short period of time. Caesar has returned to Rome after defeating forces loyal to his rival Pompey. His power and popularity are soaring to new heights, as the masses switch their allegiance from Pompey to Caesar. He organizes his own victory parade. Mark Antony offers Caesar the crown, and he declines it three times, even as the crowd roars louder in support.
His proclaimed disinterest seems disingenuous. Denying he wants to lead Rome seems to bait the crowd into louder insistence, bestowing power to him with or without the official title.
“Caesar decides who can kneel before him,” Mannino says. “But he is trying to be the people’s champion. If they’re on his side, he will always win.”
Caesar’s popularity and political power send shock waves through the Roman Senate and among other leaders. Some wonder if Caesar is becoming more important than the republic itself. Could he become too powerful, and thus a tyrant? That spurs conversations among others, including another general and senator, Cassius, and the politician Brutus.
Mannino is paying attention to the differences in speech, from addressing the masses to furtive meetings. In the work, different characters mock or lament how the citizens of Rome are easily swayed. Mark Antony’s famous “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech is a brilliant attempt to change people’s minds. But the leaders also fall prey to persuasion.
“We have been playing with the idea of public and private moments,” Mannino says. “We spend a lot more time with two people able to bear their truths to one another versus speaking to a crowd, but how do we speak differently? How do we act differently? People are able to swing quickly (in the story). It triggers changes in the characters.”
In contemporary terms, some actors are radicalized, though that may not be how they see it.
“I believe all these characters think they’re doing the right thing for themselves and other people,” Mannino says. “Brutus is the most swayed in the play. He doesn’t believe he’s doing anything wrong. He thinks he’s doing it for Rome.”
While events in ancient Rome are not in question, the production doesn’t look like Rome. There are no togas or laurel wreaths.
“We’re setting this a little bit in the future,” Mannino says. “So the idea is in the current climate, what could be the fallout if democracy got more fragile? What does that teetering ground look like?”
Shakespeare’s text isn’t altered or updated, but the look is modern. The production is using video projections, with both recorded parts and live capture. Some of it looks like action caught on security camera footage, Mannino says. It highlights senses of conspiracy and paranoia.
But more classical is the use of masks and hoods to create anonymity.
“The idea is about mystery,” Mannino says. “I like the idea of what’s a secret? What starts in the anonymity of a nation?”
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There are no guns in the work, and the assassination attempt is staged in close quarters.
But from turns of phrase to a twist of the knife, the drama is tight.
“Every moment is filled with weight,” Mannino says. “The stakes are really high.”
The show will be reprised in January 2025. Each year, one of the Shakespeare Festival’s mainstage productions is remounted at the larger Dixon Hall for area schools. Between 60 and 75 schools will see “Julius Caesar.”
‘Julius Caesar’ has a preview Thursday, July 11, and runs July 12-21. Tickets are $40 via neworleansshakespeare.org.
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