Full disclosure, I hadn't read Julius Caeser since high school.
When the opportunity arose for me to direct it for Old Library Theatre, I dusted off my Complete Works of William Shakespeare and read through it. Long? Yes. Did I need to translate? Yes. Despite that, I was very struck by the similarities of Rome 44 and 42 BCE and the year 2026.
To bring a better understanding of a 400-year-old story to a modern audience, we've updating it to a city inspired by Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing.
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There are many things that stand out about Julius Caeser that our incredible company and team have discussed many times: manipulation and mob mentality, fate versus free will, ethics versus power, the dangers of revenge and political ambition, the choice between doing what is right and what is easy all in the name of honor. But what stands out for me, personally, the most is the question of political violence and its consequences. Were the conspirators correct in their actions by stopping a tyrant before it was too late or did they commit stone-cold murder strictly to advance their own power?
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We're currently living in a time where political violence is almost looked at with a shrug and shared on social media like it's nothing. It's horrific and should be treated as such. I'm not sure what people will think when they walk away from our show; people will see the story and interpret it how they will. But what I do hope is that it sparks conversations about the power of social media, celebrity politicians and what constitutes an act of political sacrifice.