Sara Becker's Julius Caesar As A Political Play

The Tragedy Julius Caesar is one of William Shakespeare's greatest tragedies.Written in the Elizabethan era, Julius Caesar addressed concerns about leadership and government which were beginning to arise as very popular Queen Elizabeth I, was reaching the end of her reign, where she was not married and had no heir. There was not a clear successor and the threat of turmoil and a civil war loomed on the horizon as her death approached. The conflicts and concerns addressed in the play can be seen as universal which is attributed to the success and reproduction of the play many times and in many different ways. Directed by Sara Becker, a redenation of Julius Caesar, was recently performed on February 23, 2017 by the University of Houston’s School …show more content…
Julius Caesar, is a political play, but it comments on many themes our society struggles with. It addresses concerns of power, who has the right to it, and what form it is obtained by. It comments on pride and the destructive qualities it can have. The play questions friendships and where people’s true loyalties lies. It shows how easily people can be manipulated and the consequences that come with it. Julius Caesar questions fate and free will, and where control truly lies.
The School of Theatre and Dance production of Julius Caesar was performed in a black box, theatre in the round. The audience was on all sides of the stage and the actors had no place to hide. The grey walls in the theatre were simple and bare, but had black paint dripping down to give a …show more content…
This simplicity suggests that the director wanted the audience to focus on the script and the actions happening on stage. The drama was conveyed and sympathy was felt for each character in different ways. The actors were believable and performed actions which fell in line with the characters they were portraying. The actors could always be heard, but understanding the lines was difficult at times. The script was originally written in 1599, the language style used in that time period was very different compared to today’s language. This could have attributed to the poor comprehension of words, however the words were very hard to pick up and to distinguish what was happening in the play. The pace at which the actors spoke was very fast which reduced the understanding of what was being said. The actors also spoke at a level which allowed each member of the audience to hear the words spoken, but it was perceived to be close to a yell, which could have also hindered the understanding of the script. This aspect was a large hindrance to the play, as the other elements were very simple which allowed the action and script to speak for itself. Julius Caesar is a play in which the script is very important as it questions many issues that our society is faced with. The script is its reason for its popularity and is ability to relate through time periods. The inability to grasp at what was being said reduced the effect the performance had on the