Julius Caesar

The modern adaptation of Julius Caesar that I saw this weekend was thoroughly enjoyable. I was very entertained by it and that made me happy because I’ve never seen a school play before and I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew the basic plot of Julius Caesar before I went to go see the play, but I didn’t know that it would be a modern adaptation. It was a great idea to do a modern adaptation for several reasons.
First of all, it was a great idea to change the setting to a high school. It made the play more relatable for the teenagers in the audience. I really liked the part where the dates of school shootings and names of the victims were read. It made everything seem more real. Also, the use of cell phones and the references to current pop culture, such as the Twilight reference, was rather entertaining. This probably helped keep the majority of the kids and teenagers in the room focused on the play. The struggle for popularity between many of the characters also helped this adaptation become more relatable. The news broadcasts that were shown were very hilarious and I think the use of technology in this part of the show was a good way to hold the audience’s attention. It broke up the play and made everything more understandable. The broadcasts served as a little summary for each section of the play.
Changing the language of the play by allowing the actors to change their lines was also a fantastic idea. By doing this, the actors had to make sure that they understood the Shakespearean language before they changed it. It taught all of the performers how to understand this type of language and everyone learned something new. Also, I think that, through changing the lines into something more modern, the performers probably formed a deeper connection to their characters. There is also the obvious reason for changing the dialect of the play. Most people, of any age, wouldn’t be able to enjoy the play if it were in old Shakespearean language. Everyone would be sitting there trying to translate the lines into modern language. Some people, especially children and teenagers, just wouldn’t have gotten it if it were in that old language and they would have given up half way through the play. The adaptation of the language in this production allowed the viewers to relax a bit more and it gave everyone a completely original Shakespeare experience.
Also, I think that it was a brilliant idea to put all of the seating up on stage. It let everyone in the audience get up close and personal with the performance. Who wouldn’t like a seat a little closer to the action? I can say that I didn’t lose interest in this play halfway through. I was completely interested and focused on what was going on the entire time. From the looks and responses of the rest of the audience, I believe that everyone else was fully engaged the entire time as well.