What is a triumph? Well, of course, it’s all about winning, as we’re reminded by Wimbledon, or the World Cup. But winning against what? In sitting down to review the production last night of Julius Caesar in Hampstead Parish Church I am, I find, powerfully aware of David Gardner’s piece in the June magazine – 7/7 and the Ides of March, with its vivid evocation of the event, and its very apt quotations. David made it clear that from the turmoil of suffering and destruction it is possible to draw inspiration and courage. His final words – “to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light” hit their mark, for what else were we doing here this evening in the Parish Church, remembering the savagery of pain and loss, and the survival and bravery of those – like David – who returned to us?
This production by David and Bill Risebero [ably assisted by Pat Gardner] was surely a triumph. The play loses no time in getting to the crux of the matter – we are stepping on board a roundabout which is already turning. We were instantly engulfed in the noise of the crowd celebrating the Feast of Lupercal – and then brought up sharply by Marullus [a commanding Andrew Penny]. In no time at all the main protagonists in the play are there before us – and Caesar is warned to beware the Ides of March. This is a wonderfully fast-paced [and judiciously trimmed] production: we are at once confronted by the interchange between Brutus and Cassius. Cassius – the lean-and-hungry man who reads much, and gives rise to Caesar’s remarkably perceptive analysis – is beautifully brought to life by Bill Risebero. He and David play together most expertly – we hear Cassius’ intricate persuasion, and we are aware of Brutus’ turmoil of uncertainty. It has been said that the part of Brutus is a hard one for the actor for Shakespeare was trying his hand at something new, the tragic hero, but it had not yet been perfected. Here David was in his element, listening to Cassius [his brother-in-law] part friend, part enemy, torn between agreement in the assassination of Caesar and the ways of peace.
One of the strengths of this production was the grouping of the actors, at all the high moments of the play – and at others too – the setting before us satisfied the eye. Especially so at the scene in the Capitol for Caesar’s assassination, when the man so well-played by Keith Willoughby, benign yet dangerous’, and a mixture of grandeur and weaknesses, lies there before us – with none so poor to do him reverence.
And so we come to Mark Antony. His first words “O mighty Caesar! Dost thou lie so low?” come quietly after the violence. Antony has the gilded phrases, and Ben Horslen relishes them and is wonderfully all of a piece as a man who is single-minded, sure of his stance and his loyalty to Caesar. He is sharply at odds with Brutus, who is in two minds, and whose division will undo him.
I found it most persuasive that Caesar should sit enthroned after his death, flanked by Antony and Octavius – this was a fine touch for it foreshadows the end – and fulfils Brutus’ cry “O Julius Caesar thou art mighty yet!”
There was so much to commend in this production that I can only pick out a few names amongst so many who deserve praise – design, excellent as always, by John Risebero, lighting – most particularly apt in the appearance of Caesar’s ghost, by Howard Hudson; costumes, a fine mixture of the common day and the purple by Alison Berryman and Christine Risebero, a particularly accurate performance by Robin Saikia as Decius Brutus who convincingly persuades Caesar to ignore Calpurnia’s dream and go to the Capitol; a troubled Portia, convincingly played by Angela Gardner, giving one of the few feminine touches in a strongly masculine play, a charmingly sleepy Lucius by Robert Trebilcock, a nice portrait of that blunt fellow’ Casca, by Cliff Burgess.
But altogether, such a fine and moving performance of a play which has greater depth and tragic intimation than one may at first realise. In the thirty years since the inauguration of the Hampstead Players this is surely one of their most memorable achievements. And one cannot but believe that the savage experience of a year ago informed this production with a depth of understanding, and left us grateful for the tireless efforts of a company that was informed not only with passion but with hope.