Julius Caesar from The Donmar Warehouse at St. Ann’s – Location, Tickets, Reviews

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Julius Caesar from The Donmar Warehouse at St. Ann’s – Location, Tickets, Reviews

Update: October 13th, 2013

Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have hailed this Julius Caesar, a production from one Warehouse (England’s Donmar) hosted by another (St. Ann’s in Brooklyn), as the best in recent memory. You’ll get little argument from us.

A rapturously inventive interpretation – set in a women’s prison and featuring an all-female cast of Britain’s brightest – this Caesar stylishly captures the brutality and desperation of Shakespeare’s great political thriller without a drop of testosterone in sight.

Recommended if:

  • You can’t wait for the next season “Orange is the New Black”;
  • You love thinking-outside-the-box Shakespeare productions;
  • You like – or have always wanted to see – Shakespeare that genuinely thrills; OR
  • You want to see a dozen of the fiercest actresses alive show the boys how it’s done; and
  • You don’t mind a little loud, thrash metal music to emphasize a point or two.

Tip: There are three sections of seats, a large middle section and two smaller sections on each side of the stage. The seats in the middle section have a significantly better view of the performers and there is less risk of being blinded by two roving spotlights, manually operated at the front of the stage.

Original Post: July 26th, 2013

The Donmar Warehouse, a celebrated British theater, presents its bold, new, all-female version of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, set in a women’s prison. It had a successful debut in London last year (one critic calling it “one of the most important  theatrical events of the year“), and US critics shared the enthusiasm: the New York Times and the New York Post both used “gripping” to describe this production, and the Huffington Post declared it should be missed.

The show is accompanied by a live thrash metal band and spans more than two hours with no intermission. It is not recommended for children under 14. This Julius Caesar is unlike any Shakespeare we’ve ever seen.

LOCATION

St. Ann’s Warehouse
29 Jay Street, Brooklyn
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RUNNING TIME

2 hours and 5 minutes, no intermission

TICKETS

$50, $45 for members (click here for tickets)

DATES

Extended through  November 9, 2013

NEWS & REVIEWS

Reviews

New York Times
Friends, Romans, Countrywomen

New York Post
All hail lady Julius Caesar

Huffington Post
Beware the Ides of March and beware missing “Julius Caesar!”

Theatermania
Phyllida Lloyd sets Shakespeare’s political thriller in a women’s prison, garnering new insights and keeping audiences on edge

Mildly Bitter
Veni, Vidi, Bitteri

News

New York Times
Once More Into the Breeches, Gender-Bending ‘Julius Caesar’ Has All-Female Cast

Reviews from the original production in London, December 2012

The Observer
One of the most important theatrical events of the year

The Evening Standard
Even if it’s not a Julius Caesar for purists, this is visceral and exciting theatre

The Independent
In truth, though, for all the media excitement that Lloyd’s concept has sparked, her production is not nearly as brilliant as Gregory Doran’s recent Julius Caesar

The Telegraph
Gimmicky, humorless, and strained, it would assuredly have had its writer feeling every bit as betrayed as Brutus, or Brunhilda, as we should perhaps think of him now

CAST & CREW
(partial list)

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Phyllida Lloyd

Featuring Jade Anouka, Frances Barber, Alice Bell, Susan Brown, Helen Crips, Meline Denielewicz, Clare Dunne, Jennifer Joseph, Jenny Jules, Cush Jumbo, Irene Ketikidi, Carrie Rock, Harriet Walter, Denielle Ward, Susan Wokoma

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

St. Ann’s Warehouse