Julius Caesar!

            Before today I had never seen or read Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, but like most people I knew the storyline: Caesar’s friends betray him and kill him. I did not come to the play with high expectations, not because I did not have faith in the actors or the rest of the theater department of the University of Denver, but because I did not really feel I would connect to the highly political Roman tragedy.

            There were such parts where I did not feel a strong interest in what was happening onstage, but I blame this on tired actors. This was after all, the final performance of Julius Caesar and just the day before they had put on a double show.  Indeed, there were several actors who seemed to just be going through the motions: saying their lines, moving to their mark, but without any real passion or energy behind it. Others slipped in and out of energy throughout the play, but the actors playing Cassius and Brutus were consistently passionate and energetic through the entire play. Cassius especially was full of energy, every line was delivered loudly and her screams and laughs conveyed a certain mental instability in her character. Brutus’s best parts were the lines he delivered while making direct eye contact make eye contact with members of the audience.

            When the first part of the play ended with Caesar dead I found myself slightly confused. I had no idea that the play actually extended past the plot to kill Caesar. This was a pleasant surprise and the fight scenes that occurred in the second part of the play were amazing. The use of lighting, music, chanting, and slow motion made the play feel like an epic movie playing outright on stage.

            The use of fake blood was also a pleasant surprise. Without the blood, the murder of Caesar wouldn’t have been the same. It was so disturbing to see the actors rubbing the blood of Caesar all over their arms and hands, and then to watch them walk around for the rest of the scene with the blood dripping onto the stage. It helped me feel the passion and madness motivating the characters to kill Caesar. On the other hand, I kept feeling distracted by the puddle of blood in the middle of the stage and kept worrying the actors were going to slip in it.
         Overall, it was an enjoyable play, and I look forward to my next chance to see one of the theater department's productions.