Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Previews begin today for Scott Wentworth’s production of Julius Caesar, starring Seana McKenna in the title role. The production opens on August 16 at the Festival Theatre.
McKenna, who has played nearly all of Shakespeare’s leading ladies as well as the traditionally male roles of Richard III and Jaques, plays Julius Caesar alongside Michelle Giroux as Mark Antony, Jonathan Goad as Marcus Brutus and Irene Poole as Cassius, with Monice Peter as Portia and Joseph Ziegler as Casca.
While Wentworth has retained the genders of the (mostly male) characters, the cast is a mix of male and female performers playing some of Shakespeare’s greatest roles. By bringing female voices and female energies into the male-driven world that Shakespeare depicts, Wentworth hopes “we can unlock the metaphorical life of this play.”
“‘Lowliness is young ambition’s ladder,’ says Brutus, as he ponders the impending assassination of Julius Caesar,” says Wentworth. “As Brutus describes it, we’re all trying to climb the ladder, envying those above us and disdaining those below. It’s a very masculine view of the world: one in which everything is a competition, an encounter of wills. And I think that’s what western civilization – from ancient Roman times to today – has done with the public discourse: we’ve framed it in purely masculine terms as a drama of winners and losers.
“But the ladder is just an image, one way of looking at the world. It’s not how things necessarily are. I believe that in Julius Caesar, Shakespeare – whose own queen had to rule on masculine principles – is calling into question the whole nature of what we now call patriarchy.”
Written like a political thriller, the play begins as Caesar returns victorious from a civil war and is welcomed in Rome with tremendous popular acclaim. His friend and comrade Mark Antony offers him a crown, much to the alarm of a group of senators, including Cassius and Marcus Brutus, who perceive Caesar’s political ambitions as a threat to Rome’s republican system of government. They decide to assassinate Caesar before he can become a tyrant, but no one can foresee the twists of fate that follow the last twist of the knife, and the assassins’ actions soon plunge their world into another war.
“Julius Caesar shows us the end of Roman democracy and is a warning to all of us who are concerned with our individual freedom and about our ability to direct our future as a society,” says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. “Through the lens of this extraordinary cast, these themes – and the play at large – are explored on a whole new level and in a way that speaks to our changing world.”
The creative team includes Designer Christina Poddubiuk, Lighting Designer Louise Guinand, Composer Paul Shilton, Sound Designer Verne Good and Fight Director John Stead.
Julius Caesar opens on August 16 and runs until October 27 at the Festival Theatre.
Julius Caesar at the Forum
The Forum is a series of events, such as exclusive showcases, guest speakers, special meals, music and family fun, that offer theatregoers a unique opportunity to delve deeper into the ideas and issues raised by the 2018 playbill.
• IN PURSUIT OF PUBLIC MORALITY
What is the appropriate citizen response when government fails us? How should we respond to destructive political events? Philosopher Mark Kingwell, political scientist Emma Planinc and company member Jonathan Goad examine society’s responsibility of stewardship in a discussion with Paul Kennedy, host of CBC’s Ideas.
Ahead of his time in so many ways, Shakespeare utilized the “gender-swap” as a theatrical device to create the unforgettable characters in both Twelfth Night and As You Like It. Today, as we continue to explore the world of “cross-gendered” and “gender neutral” casting, we find ourselves in exciting new territories, for both actors and audience. Company members Seana McKenna, Beryl Bain, Michelle Giroux and Jessica B. Hill join Toronto Star critic and Brock University professor Karen Fricker to discuss the opportunities, discoveries and challenges they’ve experienced being inside roles traditionally played by their male colleagues.
The Stratford Festival’s 2018 season runs until November 11, featuring The Tempest, The Comedy of Errors, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, The Music Man, The Rocky Horror Show, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, An Ideal Husband, To Kill a Mockingbird, Napoli Milionaria!, Brontë: The World Without and Paradise Lost. For tickets and more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca or call 1.800.567.1600.
Photo: Seana McKenna as Julius Caesar. ©2017 Clay Stang.
2018-07-31
Stratford: "Julius Caesar" starring Seana McKenna in the title role begins previews today