Review: JULIUS CAESAR at Bourglinster Castle

Luxembourg is not known its Shakespearean theatre, so you know you will catch the attention of the public when you advertise that Julius Caesar is coming to town. On 25 June, the castle of Bourglinster welcomed the TNT Theatre Company for a one-day-only rendition of the famous play, one month into the group's European tour. The 2018 Castle Tour will extend until mid-September, a period during which 50 castles will be visited in over 10 countries. The play was presented in the early evening and managed to gather a very substantial audience, despite taking place at the same time as two major games of the World Cup.

This version of Julius Caesar was performed by only six actors, without resorting to too many props or major production elements. The cast chose to bet primarily in their acting skills and a in fluid interaction with the public, a simple format that seemed to work quite well. The way the small stage was set up did manage to give the performance the atmosphere of Ancient Rome, but the fact that we were watching Shakespeare in the bailey of a castle made it impossible not to imagine how well the surroundings would have fit other plays set in medieval times.

For those not familiarized with the plot, this story focuses on the assassination of Julius Caesar and the turmoil that followed his demise. It is a thought-provoking masterpiece that makes one reflect about major questions of politics and society. Does the most virtuous of men deserve to rule without supervision? Can the ignorant and impressionable be trusted to make the right choices, or will they eventually lead their country to ruin? Just as the Senate seems about to grant unprecedented power to Julius Caesar, many of his closest friends and allies begin to wonder if this is at all beneficiary for the Republic. Few doubt the qualities and merit of the great Caesar, but the concentration of power in the hands of one man makes many of the most enlightened very sceptical of this political move. Conflicted and torn, even his beloved Brutus seems to believe that the only way to save Rome is by killing the man he cares for so dearly.

The show opens with intense music and a first moment of interaction with the audience. We are introduced to Casca (Oliver Davis), a supporting character with increased importance in this version, since it received the lines of several minor roles in the play. Somehow, Davis's Casca reminded me on more than one occasion of BBC's Blackadder. His beard, accent and costume took me back to the mannerisms and wit of Rowan Atkinson's iconic anti-hero and, in a way, this seemed to fit quite well in the atmosphere of the first scenes. As Casca's character gets more tangled in the plot to assassinate Caesar, however, he begins to lose this witty side and sees his personality evolve with the rest of the assassins. Nevertheless, this initial posture was a clever way to warm up the audience. With a good presence on stage, Davis seemed to be very comfortable in this role and was very efficient in both his monologues and in the interaction with other characters.

Julius Caesar is played by Gareth Davies. At first, I could not see Davies as Caesar, but half way through his performance I realized he was actually a brilliant casting choice. This play is all about making the audience question how worthy any person would be of receiving unlimited power. It is harder to ask such a question while portraying Caesar as the immaculate hero we all assume he was. Davies gives us a character with a presence and attitude that make him seem far from standing in an unquestionable moral high ground. We all hear about his marvellous achievements and virtues but, ultimately, Caesar is presented as a boaster who is, to some extent, expecting praise from those around him. You should always be suspicious of someone who refers to himself in the third person... Even when the soothsayers make him fear for his life, Caesar's reasoning to avoid the Senate seems based on pride. It is at this very point that Davies gives us one of the best moments of the entire show. In trying to find an excuse to avoid the public, the Roman general shouts to Casca that the simple fact that he does not wish to attend a meeting should be "enough to satisfy the Senate." This was the first time a line echoed through the valleys around Bourglinster's castle and the effect was truly amazing. The weight of the sentence and the authority provided by the tone stole the breath of the audience and helped to understand why total power in the hands of one individual might be a concept worth opposing.

And something is, indeed, done to prevent it. At the head of the plot to murder Caesar, we find Brutus (Dan Wilder) and Cassius (Gareth Fordred), two of the most prominent characters in the play. Wilder introduces us to someone who is not at all an obvious villain, but rather a conflicted person who has to choose between the life of a man he respects greatly and his democratic principles. He was perhaps the most fluid actor on stage and it was fantastic to see a genuine conflict of values in the development of his character. His monologues were remarkably articulate and great care was taken to grant them the right amount of emotion. The moral struggle right after Caesar's death is very well expressed, with Wilder mirroring Davies's roar through the valley of Bourglinster during a moment of regret. In fact, once the murder takes place, Brutus is so deeply immersed in a personal conflict that he seems capable of repeating this echo even with a stage whisper.

This degree of emotional development and depth is a bit less visible in Fordred's Cassius. In the first scenes of the play, Cassius resembles a petty politician, with the mannerisms of a bureaucrat who gets easily offended and complains about his lack of recognition. However, his shirtless appearance during the storm looks out of character, even if his lines are crucial to understand how dangerous it is to grant Caesar more power. He returns to a cold and almost opportunistic posture as soon as the murder takes place, yet he lets go of this original persona once again to assume a more martial and militaristic attitude, at the time he and Brutus must gather their men to fight Mark Antony (Adam Pelta-Pauls) and Octavius (Kelly Griffiths). Fordred is quite convincing in all these "shades of Cassius," it is the construction of the character itself that seems to be a bit off the rails.

Caesar's assassination marks the end of act 1, with a slow-motion scene that worked surprisingly well. Act 2 began with Brutus and Mark Antony making two distinct speeches to the masses. Brutus goes first, presenting with logical arguments the reasons why a tyrant would have destroyed the very core of what Rome stood for. He speaks as a rational politician, with well structured arguments that persuade the impressionable audience so much that they stop caring about Caesar. However, when Mark Antony resorts to an emotional speech about the greatness of a fallen hero, the people are quick to once again change their opinion regarding the assassination, and turn against the murderers.

In just one scene, Pelta-Pauls makes a brilliant change from a grieving friend who speaks from the heart with compassion and kind words, to a power-hungry politician who takes advantage of the situation to further his own agenda. He finds an ally in Octavius, who returns to the city after the death of his adoptive father. Griffiths was the only actress to perform in the play, taking the roles of Portia, Octavius, the soothsayer and several commoners. You could see her versatility in the way she quickly adapted from one character to the next, yet the future emperor of Rome was the part that convinced the least. As Portia, her chemistry with Brutus was truly remarkable, making me care more for the weight his secret plan had on their marriage than for the main plot itself, even if just for one scene. But perhaps because her presence was so likable as Portia, when she stepped in as Octavius, the tough military commander who would become Emperor, something just did not feel right.

All things considered this was a very pleasant evening with great performances and a though-provoking material that managed to reach the hearts and minds of the public. It would be delightful to see this company again soon in Luxembourg, yet their agenda seems to only have a new play scheduled for next year. We shall eagerly await to see their rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2019.

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