This entertaining version of Julius Caesar combines slapstick bloodbaths with resonant, big ideas to create an evening that's both smart and fun — possibly too much fun if you need all your Shakespeare tragedies po-faced and earnest, but the rest of us can revel in literal gobs of gore accompanying political intrigue.
Spin doctors, skulduggery and the title character killed off before interval, Julius Caesar is an interesting ensemble piece about power struggles: it warns of the dangers of pre-emptive strikes and failing to plan for the aftermath of victory (see also: the 2003 Iraq invasion).
Upping the ante, the cast is gender-reversed with potent results ("She thinks too much. Such women are dangerous").
Donagh Rees is an elegant, commanding Caesar in a Hillary-Clinton pantsuit; perhaps like Shakespeare's Caesar, Clinton's political career was killed off because she was perceived to be too ambitious (a far greater fault, of course, in a woman).
Director Rita Stone has made some wonderful choices: Caesar's ghost pops up unexpectedly and Brutus' servant (Neenah Dekkers-Reihana) seems more like her surly, sleepy teenage daughter, complete with headphones (and a beautiful singing voice).
