Ada Shin ‘25
Plots, manipulation of the public, and assassination attempts of a political leader—the 2024 election? Nope, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. From November first through third, the St. Andrew’s theater program will perform Julius Caesar in MacDonald Hall. This play takes place in modern Rome during the month of March, centering around the question of what turns a leader into a tyrant and what must be done to prevent that.
This play has been a long-time favorite of the director Mr. Porter. “It has great language, and I feel the language is more accessible than some of the language in his plays,” Mr. Porter said. “And it’s a great story with political intrigue, friendships gone awry, battles, and changing alliances.”Adding its own spin to the story, St. Andrew’s has been changing some of the main male roles into female ones. “All of the young women involved are up to the task and looking forward to playing parts traditionally performed by men,” Mr. Porter said. “It’ll be interesting to see how that plays and resonates when we have an audience.” In Shakespearean times, women were often underestimated and deprived of positions of power. However, in this version, several of the senators, generals, and other roles have been changed to reflect our modern era.
The play follows Brutus and Cassius, two senators who end up leading a plan to kill Julius Caesar, the play’s namesake.“Brutus is very honorable,” said Senior Kati Ahuja, playing the role of Brutus. “She is a senator, so she’s in a place of power, and she intensely values morality.” While Brutus makes her decisions for the good of Rome, she is surrounded by politicians who think only about themselves and their status. Because of this, Brutus is roped into a conspiracy plot orchestrated by Cassius, a shrewd politician who believes that Julius Caesar may become a dictator. Fearing for her power and being jealous of Caesar, Cassius gathers allies in a plan to eliminate him. Due to the play’s nature, the cast has had to take a different approach in their rehearsals.
Instead of jumping into blocking and memorization, they took the first few weeks to do table work. “The simplest way to explain it is sitting down at a table and reading through the entire script, stopping at lines to make sure we understand what’s being said,” said Senior Rhian Williams, playing the role of Mark Antony. “It was a way for us to get to know our character as well as understand what we’re saying and doing.”
Lastly, the play is somewhat relevant to today’s political environment. “Julius Caesar is about usurping authority, the motives behind it, and the aftermath of the decisions that were made to do it,” Ahuja said. “With an election coming up a few days after our show closes, I think it may serve as food for thought for anyone that’s very interested in politics nowadays, or anyone who wants to hear a story about a non-peaceful exchange of power.”