"Cry Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war" (Julius Caesar Act 3, Sc.1)

With this cry, Mark Antony heralds the onset of civil strife that ultimately decided the fate of Ancient Rome's Republic and paved the way to Imperialism. The famous men and women who played a part in this tumultuous chapter of history make up the cast of Shakespeare's greatest Roman tragedy, Julius Caesar. An audience does not have to look far to see the modern relevance of a play that portrays an empire torn by political intrigue and conspiratorial ambition, leading to the assassination of the head of state. Yet the murder of one man on the brink of absolute power in essence is merely the backdrop for the very human struggle that Brutus faces. He weighs the love he feels for his friend Caesar against his own beliefs in what is the right and honorable path of action, for the good of the Republic. As with all Shakespeare's great tragic heroes, we enter into the turmoil of Brutus's mind, agonize over the choices he has to make and finally witness the terrifying consequences of his actions. It is a play rich in both political and personal conflict that speaks its message as loud today as it did four hundred years ago, when it was first performed at the Globe Theatre in London.

Any modern production of Julius Caesar must deal with the sweeping epic quality of the text and allow the audience to enter into a world that portrays not only the violent stabbing of Caesar and the bitter rivalry of civil war that follows, but also the piece's chilling supernatural underflow. The colossal storms, the soothsayer, the dreams, the ghost of the slain dictator - all these elements, coupled with huge blood-crazed crowd scenes fill the stage with vitality and mystery. It is a monumental undertaking, but when an audience meets the performers on the plains of Shakespeare's imagination, the play proves - in every way - to be the most rewarding and entertaining of theatrical experiences.

~Robert Richmond