Globe: Julius Caesar

When Caesar returns to Rome from the wars a virtual dictator, Brutus and his republican friends resolve that his ambition must be curbed – which in Rome can mean only one thing: the great general must be assassinated. But once the deed is done, the idealistic conspirators must reckon with the forces of a new power bloc, led by Mark Antony and Caesar’s nephew Octavius. When their armies close at Philippi, will Caesar’s ghost be avenged?

Opposing dictatorship and republicanism, private virtue and mob violence, Shakespeare’s tense drama of high politics reveals the emotional currents that flow between men in power with themes that still resonate even today. This sell-out production employed authentic Renaissance costumes and staging, and Dominic Dromgoole’s impassioned interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s classic plays showcased “a rapport between the performers and the audience that feels genuinely magical” (Daily Telegraph).