Review: You 'Will Be Satisfied' with JULIUS CAESAR at the Stratford Festival

We are in the Ides of August and the final few openings of the 66th season at the Stratford Festival have begun. Last night, JULIUS CAESAR had its opening night at the Festival Theatre. It has been nine years since this production graced the Stratford stage and this thrilling production is sure to have audiences clamouring to come see it.

This is, of course, Shakespeare's retelling of the assassination of Julius Caesar and the aftermath for the conspirators who killed him.

Much has been made about the fact that several of the male roles in this Scott Wentworth directed production are played by women. It makes a lot of sense that in this day and age, a play with so few female characters should have women playing some of the more juicy male roles-especially considering the depth of talent that the Stratford Festival has in its company. This production has a 30-member company. 16 are men, 14 are women. All are impressive. Interestingly, unlike what was done with the character of Prospero in THE TEMPEST, which is also being performed at the Festival Theatre this season, the male characters in this play are still male, some just happen to be played by women. This makes sense as these characters are based on real people. It is interesting to see these two different approaches being used in the same season because it significantly changes how the audience interprets each play. With THE TEMPEST, part of the goal is to add to the complexity of the character, her treatment by those around her, and her relationship with her daughter by making Prospero a woman. In this production, the goal is to not so much focus on the gender of the actors in the role, but on the traits and decisions that lead their characters to their fates.

These choices in casting are particularly fascinating because Shakespeare makes a point to explore the theme of gender and gender roles many times in JULIUS CAESAR. In Act II, Portia (Monice Peter) states that she has "a man's mind but a woman's might" and is tortured by the idea that she has been granted the knowledge that the men have, but that she herself cannot act on it in any way because of her place in the world as a woman. This proves to be too much for her. Similarly, the idea of male characters having what are considered 'feminine qualities' is explored in the characters of both Caesar and Brutus. It is a driving force for decisions that are made and could be explored at a much deeper level if this were a literary essay and not a theatre review. Given the theme of gender and the idea presented that certain traits are attributed to certain genders, I think it was a brilliant choice to have women in the roles of characters like Caesar (Seana McKenna), Marc Antony (Michelle Giroux), and Cassius (Irene Poole) as well as several servants, senators and priests. It allows our own perceptions of gender to be tackled head on and hopefully questioned and explored well beyond the end of the show.

The performances are all very good. Irene Poole's Cassius is captivating. Both her portrayal, as well as the description of the character made by Caesar, allow for a very clear picture of the person that Cassius is. Poole portrays him as a bit of a pit bull. He is determined to accomplish his goals, he will not suffer fools, and he has a keen ability to understand the intentions of others. There is a great moment when Caesar takes the time to greet every other Senator except Cassius. Both Poole and McKenna play this moment so well, and it immediately says everything that needs to be said about the relationship between these two characters.

Jonathan Goad, who played Marc Antony in the 2009 Stratford production of this play, is Brutus this time around. He portrays the complexity and hypocrisy of Brutus wonderfully. His Brutus is constantly at conflict with himself as he tries to justify his actions both to himself and others. His scenes with Cassius and with his servant, Lucius (Zara Jestadt) are very memorable.

Michelle Giroux is an excellent Marc Antony. One of the most memorable scenes in the play is the classic "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears..." speech. This scene is done incredible well here, with Giroux's Marc Antony skillfully swaying the crowd. This moment seemed to resonate strongly with the audience, not only because it was funny to see how fickle the Roman citizens were, but because we as a society see this very mob mentality play out every day on social media! The citizens of Rome and their easily swayed opinions are an absolute highlight in this production. The direction by Scott Wentworth here is fantastic.

Other standouts include Joseph Ziegler as Casca and the aforementioned Zara Jestadt as Brutus' servant Lucius, who has a beautiful singing voice that carries incredibly well throughout the theatre.

Seana McKenna is no stranger to taking on male Shakespearean characters. She has portrayed Richard III at the Festival and was recently King Lear at the Groundling Theatre Company. She is a charismatic Caesar and she portrays his arrogance to great effect. Despite so many signs to the contrary, Caesar has such faith in the Senators and confidence in himself that he truly does not see his assassination coming...even though the Soothsayer (Matthew G. Brown), his wife Calpurnia (Jacklyn Francis), and Artemidorus (Sean Arbuckle) all try to confront him with increasingly specific warnings. McKenna is very believable in this, which makes the assassination scene all the more suspenseful.

Christina Poddubiuk's design immediately sets the tone for this production. She has created a chestnut brown backdrop that is partly wood and partly metal, with small cauldrons of fire strategically placed in the dark crevices. It gives you a sense that you don't know what is lurking around the corner, just as Caesar does not know what is lurking in plain sight. The lighting by Louise Guinard adds to this effect.

As a complete side note, I was delightful to be reminded that the classic line "A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once" is from this play. The same line is hilariously misquoted in THE MUSIC MAN--which also graces the Festival Theatre stage this season...sometimes on the same day! It may just be coincidence that both shows are happening this season...but I like to think that Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino had it in mind all along.

If you are coming to Stratford to see some classic Shakespeare with powerful performances, look no further than JULIUS CAESAR.

JULIUS CAESAR continues in Repertory at the Festival Theatre until October27th.

Photo Credit: David Hou

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