Director Lloyd revives Shakespeare in gripping fashion

Director Phyllida Lloyd turns her talents back to the stage after enjoying Hollywood film success with The Iron Lady and Mamma Mia. Here she has revived Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: a brutal, powerful tale, which explores the urge which compels people to overthrow authority. Lloyd's inspired input puts a fascinating spin on the play, featuring an all-female cast who play inmates in a prison. These inmates are seen staging their own production of Julius Caesar, and this play-within- a-play is used as a compelling device to draw further meaning from the original Shakespeare.

Dazzling performances come from the entire cast, who never take the easy route of hamming up the masculinity of the male roles. They have instead each chosen to dig far deeper into each role, and the result is a unique, compelling reworking of this classic play.

What is Julius Caesar about?

This play is a classic example of a Shakespeare tragedy. Julius Caesar, emperor of Rome, is targeted by a group of senators who conspire to assassinate him, as many suspect that he intends to turn Rome into a monarchy under his own rule. Despite a host of cosmic warnings against it, Caesar goes to the Senate on the 'Ides of March' where he is duly assassinated, by those he thought to be his closest of allies.

What follows is Shakespeare's gripping exploration of the struggle to restore order in a power vacuum. While a common cause united the conspirators to begin with, soon they begin to act in their personal interests alone...