Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare
Wirtz Center For the Performing Arts - Louis Stage
Directed by Danielle Roos
Scenic Design by Irena Hadzi Dordevic
Costume Design by Drina Krlic
Lighting Design by Gabrielle Strong
Photography by Justin Barbin
Scenic Design Concept
The Rome we chose to build is not built in historic white marble but it is built from black stone. This black is a representative of the warning for the bloodshed that comes as a result of a divided country, much like what we see today. This country is affected by civil war and its structure is already shaken by fights between people that used to be allies. Betrayal is strong in this world and it is much more personal than it would have been in a war with a foreign country.
We see a group of men in power making decisions that will lead the new young generation into certain death. Leaders are replaceable ( tearing down of the posters, killing of Caesar ), but who do we support and chose as a new voice to lead us? It is clear how hard is to make this choice, especially with the efforts the men in power take in order to keep their positions, the mass, common people ( in our case Plebeians ) that will be affected the most are easily manipulated and swayed in decision making. Conspirators' desire for power and decision to kill for it, leads this society into a disease that spreads across the country as a form of contamination. To show this in our production we chose to use mud instead of blood. Mud is material that can spread easily and it stands for filth and impurity of the motives these characters have when making decisions that are affecting every single person in this world we are creating. The war of ideologies shows in full futility by the end. In a scene where we see our young generation dying for the ideals of the older generation, we slowly become aware that we have lost all of the structure and security we so passionately fought for. We are left in a black, empty shattered world, with the promise of a new cycle that seems as dark as the old one.
