In this episode, we discuss the Groundling Theatre Company's current production of Julius Caesar; the genius of Moya O'Connell, André Sills, and Michelle Giroux; and the influence of Nicholas Hytner.

This production is heavily inspired by Nicholas Hytner’s 2018 production (which we discussed here) of the play, featuring similar approaches to gender-swapping characters, as well as much of the same blocking and sets. 

Directed by Chris Abraham, the Groundling production is in the round in a large space with high ceilings, often with the effect of it feeling like an intimate arena. Unlike Hytner’s production, this is very much Cassius’s show, and Moya O’Connell regularly steals every scene she’s in right out from under Johnstone’s Brutus. André Sills, as Casca, also shines, having been given short shrift as Coriolanus in Stratford’s Coriolanus. And Michelle Giroux, who previously played Marc Antony at Stratford in 2018, shines in a series of smaller parts, including as Brutus’s wife.

Groundling is an independent off-shoot of Ontario’s Stratford Festival, featuring many of the same actors and directors that appear at Stratford; their productions are mounted during Stratford’s off-season. Last year, Groundling produced a revelatory production of Lear starring Seana McKenna. For a history of past productions, visit their website here.

For detailed show notes, visit:
https://21stfolio.com/2020/01/27/ep-28-groundling-theatre-julius-caesar/‎

Host: Alex Heeney (@bwestcineaste)
Guests: Mary Angela Rowe (@lapsedvictorian)
Editor: Edward von Aderkas

Follow the 21st Folio on Twitter @21stFolio, or visit our website at 21stfolio.com

Find out more about Seventh Row at seventh-row.com

Ep. 28: Groundling Theatre's Julius Caesar

In this episode, we discuss the Schaubühne Berlin's recorded productions of Hamlet and Richard III, both directed by Thomas Ostermeier and starring Lars Eidinger. The productions are in German with English subtitles, and were recently streamed on the Schaubühne's website as part of their quarantine programming. The productions are modern dress and in German, with modernized German dialogue, though the English subtitles reproduce Shakespeare's text (rather than translating the modern German back into English). 

We discuss Ostermeier's interpretations of the two plays, Eidinger's performances, the problematic misogyny in both, the excitement of the improvisations, the costumes, and much more. Excerpts of the productions are available on YouTube though not always with English subtitles!

For detailed show notes, visit: :
http://21stfolio.com/2020/04/20/ep-29-hamlet-richard-iii-schaubuhne

Host: Alex Heeney, Editor-in-Chief at Seventh Row (@bwestcineaste)
Guests: 
Noemi Berkowitz, actor, director, and contributing writer at Seventh Row (@noemiola)
Mary Angela Rowe, Editor-at-Large at Seventh Row (@lapsedvictorian)
Editor: Edward von Aderkis

Find 21st Folio online at http://21stfolio.com
Follow us on Twitter @21stFolio

This podcast is a subsidiary of Seventh Row, an online publication dedicated to interdisciplinary film criticism. Find us at http://seventh-row.com and on Twitter @SeventhRow.

Ep. 29: Hamlet & Richard III at the Schaubühne

A podcast about modern Shakespeare productions of stage and screen.

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