Review: IMPERIUM - I: CONSPIRATOR & II: DICTATOR, Gielgud Theatre

Following on from a timely Rome season, the Royal Shakespeare Company again looks to the past to inform the present, with a West End transfer of Imperium - I: Conspirator & II: Dictator. And who can blame them?

With politics and personages all too familiar, Rome and its Republic makes the perfect subject for audiences today. A historical (and hysterical) retelling, one particular detail unfortunately remains the same between then and now.

Based on the Cicero novels by Robert Harris, Mike Poulton is no stranger to adapting historical work for the stage. Or for the RSC for that matter, with Wolf Hall and Bringing Up the Bodies to his name.

Poulton's adaptation of Imperium gives a glimpse into Rome, the Republic and its people taking place against the backdrop of Anthony Ward's grand forum set.

The most understated part of Ward's staging proves most effective: a pair of mosaic eyes. Constantly watching from the back wall, this detail rings true with director Gregory Doran's dramatic world. One where someone is always watching, always listening, spreading gossip: the latest meetings, alliances, and "who's praised, raised and erased".

A network of a thousand eyes and ears, unseen and unnoticed reports the news - slaves. It makes perfect sense then why Tiro is the narrator of this tale: the story of his master Cicero, recounting stories for his memoirs.

An outsider, orator Cicero has no family, no allies, no great wealth unlike his rivals: the wealthy Crassus, the brutish Cataline, and the smooth Julius Caesar. Yet he makes his way from lawyer to consul to Father of the Country, the Roman Republic ever his chief concern and never imperium or absolute power.

As we traverse 27 years, the old adage proves true: Rome wasn't built in a day. Indeed, the rise and fall of the Republic spans across two plays, six acts and almost seven hours. However, nothing feels unnecessary or drawn out in Poulton's edit, though Cicero himself notes it's all getting "very expositional".

Metatheatrical moments abound throughout. "Where were we?" Tiro greets the audience at the start of II: Dictator. There's never a wry comment too far away from our narrator, directed not just at his world but our own one too.

Cicero compiles these memoirs with the hope that they serve as learning for future generations. Speaking to a modern audience, Tiro hopes that much has changed: that one man may not hold almighty sway for years; that one man may not instigate an executive order, bypassing a senate or equivalent; and that the days of corruption, bribery and treason are in the past. The irony (and laughs) resound heavily, particularly at Trump...I mean Pompey Magnus: "A petulant child in the body of an angry man".

Less comical is an issue which made itself clear early on. After a trial scene featuring 19 men on stage as onlookers and just three women, I was further disappointed to learn that there were only four women in this cast of 25. Less than 1/5.

Artistic Director of the RSC and director of Imperium, Doran, commented on gender equality on stage last year: "We try across the board to look at each specific production and try to shift that balance where we can and where we think it's appropriate to do so."

Yes, this is a historic play. Perhaps it is "appropriate" to show a more faithful representation of history: one of predominantly white males in positions of power. That in itself is a statement. "Appropriate" and faithful it may be, but the lack of cross-gender or gender-blind casting is disappointing all the same.

Another old adage goes, "There's not enough blue in the sky to make a sailor's trousers". Similarly pessimistic, there's not enough actresses in the cast to stage a Vestal Virgins' festival, without having men don veils.

Casting implications aside, the company pulls off an almost herculean feat of a show. A great orator himself, Richard McCabe perfectly portrays the ascent and descent of this Cicero. Every gesture considered and precise, you can sense his downfall from the waft of a hand.

Siobhan Redmond and Jade Croot play equally resilient mother and daughter Terentia and Tullia (standing out amid more stereotypical portrayals of women elsewhere). Cicero may be a great orator, but Tiro has certainly learned a fair share. Joseph Kloska is a disarming and engaging narrator, connecting on every level with every level of the theatre.

As Julius Caesar, Peter de Jersey bears the depths of his soul and depravity in extremities of hot and cold. Like father like (adopted) son, Oliver Johnstone makes for some of the best scenes in both parts, including a final, cold dismissal of Cicero by Octavian.

A lively imagining of the world and words of Rome, albeit one beset by casting. "I'm not here to discuss women", notes one character. "Pity", says the other.

Imperium - I: Conspirator & II: Dictator at the Gielgud Theatre until 8 September

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan