Associate Company The UnDisposables joins us next week for their production of ‘Julius Caesar’. Here, director Kate Bauer gives us some insight for this upcoming performance.
Between the Romans, Shakespearian London and modern times the permanence of political instability becomes apparent. Is that more reassuring or worrying?
Of course there’s so much at play culturally and financially that dictates how our governments have been formed over the years and now. I think this question really depends on how you view the world and in what light as we’re so controlled by individualism in our Western society that we seek leaders and strength in power from one person and rely on the singular person to affect change. This instability can come from a lack of leader, a shared sense of leadership, and a lack of a capable leader who has the best interests of the people in mind. Unfortunately I don’t think this is something we can escape when corruption and thirst for power is always going to play a part when we see ‘getting ahead’ as pushing others down. I think showing humans to be incredibly flawed is the most interesting part of this whole process in that we’re showing that instability is so fresh today as it was when it is set and even when Shakespeare was writing it. There is a thread of political trauma running throughout time but I suppose it’s reassuring to know there will always be good people willing to fight injustice.
You’ve attached a modern political issue, the climate crisis, to the production, how has this impacted your reading of the original text?
When I was researching the play way back in September there was a huge movement and strike organised by Extinction Rebellion worldwide. That environment definitely coloured my reading as I found myself drawing parallels between a group fighting for climate justice and getting criticised and this group in the play that want to also fight for ‘justice’ and democracy by eradicating their would-be ruler. I love the idea of linking the two as I’m a huge supporter of groups like Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Climate Declares Emergency in that they want big organisations to make structural change in how they organise their businesses and what they can do to make their energy usage more sustainable. Whilst also recognising the backlash that groups like XR have received for ‘white-washing’ the crisis in that people of colour and working class people cannot afford to get arrested or that mass protests and civil disobedience could place disabled people in isolated situations when travelling across London. They are fighting for something we should all care deeply about and of course there is going to be mistakes but I hope this play can show the nuance in how activism isn’t always perfect.
It’s really refreshing to see this production is going to be more than a ‘blokes in togas’ revival. Can you tell us how you adjusted the gender balance in casting?
I feel like there is so much to be explored in Shakespeare by using a cast that represents more than just White Men Who Shout and Have Big Emotions. I don’t know about you but I think we’re tired of seeing Shakespeare done the same way again and again and by using more diverse casting especially concerning gender we can show the problematic text for what it is but not shy away from interrogating its themes. I specifically wanted to keep the original pronouns as I feel like it’s also just showing that we are playing pretend and that with Shakespeare we have to be mindful of not repeating stereotypes surrounding women being portrayed as ‘weak’ or men being unable to express emotion. Going further we want to break down this notion of gender in that we are all just people and we are allowing everyone to have a chance at speaking some beautiful poetry and getting to throw some punches!
How have you approached Shakespeare’s text to make it accessible for a modern audience?
My main focus is on the audience and their experience – I want them to hear the beauty of Shakespeare’s words and see the spectacle without feeling like they are being patronised to or that it is difficult to grasp. My job is to understand what everyone is saying in the text and make sure that all the elements – actors, design, setting – come together in a cohesive way. Communicating big themes such as power and corruption has to come from the smallest details and by focusing on the actors making every intention and action clear it brings with it a sense that we want people to join us on this adventure and not get bogged down by the early modern language.
Between the war scenes and the interaction with the mob, there’s some epic set pieces in the play, how do you stage the unstageable?
The war scenes and staging a mob have been a lot of fun to rehearse! I think it’s always important to come back to why these characters are fighting or more simply why are they shouting in the street. Placing the characters in a realistic setting, such as a protest march that crumbles into a brawl or as just normal people being swayed by political speeches right before our eyes, allows us to explore these scenes in rehearsals physically and then collaborate with our wonderful designers to help create that atmosphere using sound and lighting.
Can you tell us a bit about how you came to work with the UnDisposables?
I first joined The Undisposables on another Shakespearean project in 2018 as I was cast in The Jailer’s Daughter – a re-imagining of The Two Noble Kinsmen within a dystopian Love Island setting. It was a lot of fun and when they put the call out for directors to work on this production I jumped at the chance to apply!
There’s a lot of anger and frustration in our politics at the moment, how can we engage with that constructively?
We regularly discussed in rehearsals about there is such a divide in our society between what is Wrong and Right and little room for growth and learning. Of course we all play our part in this – myself included – but we wanted to show how people in politics can be swayed by so many elements affecting them and how within all this we all lack a little empathy and tenderness in combat especially when our own morals are questioned. I think creating a safe space for exploring anger and frustration through theatre allows us to experience it with a sense of catharsis and let us view issues in a more nuanced way from a distance.
And finally, can you share your favourite line of JC with us?
Oh no, this is like choosing between my children! I do love Antony’s line ‘Bear with me. / My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, / And I must pause till it come back to me.’ So simple but so heartbreaking.