Review: JULIUS CAESAR, Crucible, Sheffield

Although Robert Hastie has been in position as Sheffield Theatre's new artistic director for some months, it is only now that his first season in the role gets going, opening with him on directing duties for this new production of Julius Caesar.

Set in the present day, Caesar is presented as a charismatic yet divisive political figure -and the posters and placards held up by supporters as the play opens so strongly resemble those used in American political campaigns that it is clear how we are meant to interpret this play in relation to contemporary world events. The programme also alludes to similar political situations around the world as well as the USA.

Ben Stones's set design takes the audience right to the heart of the Senate; a whole row of seats has been covered over by the wooden panelling surrounding the stage, with actors also appearing in front of this panelling at different points. That the wood and the carpets closely match the colour of the seats in the theatre only serves to strengthen the feeling that we are being brought into the play.

As you walk into the entrance and see the way the theatre's been transformed, expectations are raised for something hopefully quite special. There is also a dramatic transformation (which I won't spoil) during the interval that must have been a lot of fun for the crew to put together.

There are many interesting parallels here with the way Hastie's predecessor, Daniel Evans, began his tenure at Sheffield. Both chose to direct classic political plays they felt spoke to contemporary issues (Enemy of the People in Evans's case) for their debut, and both integrated Sheffield residents in the form of Sheffield People's Theatre members into the cast.

Sheffield People's Theatre was one of Evans' major innovations during his time in the role and it's pleasing to see that Hastie has every intention of maintaining this initiative. In another nice nod to the past, a former artistic director of Sheffield Theatres, Samuel West, appears here as Brutus.

The cast is one of the most diverse I have seen, in terms of gender, age, disability and ethnicity (though it's a shame that such a diverse cast is still so rare in our theatres that it bears commenting on). The roles in the play have been fairly evenly distributed between the genders, with around half of the key political players being female. The ensemble cast works well together, and Jonathan Hyde as Julius Caesar is clearly having the time of his life as the somewhat arrogant and pompous - yet popular - leader.

The members of Sheffield People's Theatre are utilised at multiple points for crowd scenes, bolstering the number of people on stage at some points to around 40 individuals. This is most effective in the spectacular scene following Caesar's death, which takes us into the interval via a thrilling climax. It's certainly the most exciting in the play and sets the audience up well for the change of tone that follows in the second half.

There are some minor aspects of the production that niggled, however. West, as Brutus, demonstrates both the pomp and the turmoil of the character really effectively - at his strongest when delivering his speech to the crowd at the funeral, or convincing his fellow nobles and himself of their decisions.

However, in some of the quieter, more reflective moments, West and Hastie have made the somewhat unfortunate choice of having him deliver lines towards the back of the stage, where they become lost. Even sitting towards the front of the theatre, I couldn't hear all of these lines and suspect those sitting at the back may really have struggled.

Whilst the crowd scenes or the scenes involving multiple characters are energetic and feel vital, some of the quieter scenes involving two or three characters in long discussions are somewhat static and would have benefited perhaps from some more creative staging or movement choices in places.

Whilst I'm sure not everyone will necessarily feel this way, I think the contemporary setting of the piece worked really well, particularly in the scenes in the Senate where the staging choices really paid off. It was, however, probably stronger in the first half than in the second which some may find a bit too far-fetched as Rome descends quickly into anarchy.

The new dynamics of the characters - who has and hasn't survived, who is allied with whom, what roles people are now taking - are not entirely clear. This is something that, I think, is one of the perils of trying to translate the story for a modern setting.

What this production gets really right is the difficult moral questions underpinning the play. We cannot entirely sympathise with, nor wholly despise, any character; all have their shades of grey. The humour of the play is brought out as well as the tragedy - with some fantastic moments for the supporting cast to get their teeth into. It also makes fantastic use of the different parts of the theatre, with actors appearing in many locations at many levels, really creating a dynamic visual and soundscape. Its best scenes are electrifying.

It may not be a perfect adaptation of this particular play, but it remains a production worth seeing - when it's at its best, it has something special to offer.

Julius Caesar is at the Crucible, Sheffield until 10 June

Photo credit: Johan Persson

To post a comment, you must register and login.