Caesar | La Boite
Caesar is La Boite’s latest work; a work that’s described in the program as a contemporary reimagination of the bard’s work written by five female writers who are as follows: Claire Christian, Jean Tong, Megan Wilding, Merlynn Tong and Zoey Dawson. I must admit, I got very excited when I read that the play was written by the aforementioned female writers whom as a theatre-maker myself, I admire dearly and anxiously awaited for my golden ticket to review Caesar to arrive. However, unfortunately its ambitious nature ultimately resulted in its hamartia.
Let’s start with the writing, shall we? Caesar isn’t really an adaptation of Julius Caesar, it’s a show about actors putting on a play. In fact, it wasn’t really about putting on a play, but more so about the disputes and individual philosophies between the actors. It’s all very meta.
The play jumps from the first rehearsal, to a technical rehearsal, to a Q and A after a performance, to the cast party, so we don’t actually see much of the actors rehearsing or questioning the overall structure of the play. Instead of the work being a show about putting on a show, it instead uses its platform to cover and commentate on a plethora of political issues in the arts industry to the audience. So much so, that I felt like I’d come to a lecture on the arts industry, which I had plenty of during my time at theatre school. Amongst this ‘preaching’, there was some moments that resonated, particularly near the end of the play. This section included a powerful moment when Indigenous actress Chenoa Deemal discussed an incident of racial prejudice from an audience member, echoing when she called out Queensland Theatre for its lack of diversity in their 2021 program. More moments like this in which a universal or controversial topic was discussed in relation to the character’s lives would have left a more profound impact on the audience.
All the actors played fictionalised versions of themselves, which was a surprising choice that in fact didn’t add an extra layer to the overall production for me. Whilst those people who reside in the Queensland theatre scene understood the references made to Brisbane companies and shows, it flew over the heads of the audience members beside me, creating what I imagine for them was a quite jarring experience for them. It also framed the industry as a self-indulgent and very exclusive clique, which in a show about diversity is quite ironic.
This was highlighted by Will Carseldine’s one-dimensional role of a fresh-faced acting graduate, who was very much ridiculed and undermined in the play by his fellow actors. The playwrights also heavily implied that he was only cast as a result of his physique and his ‘hotness’. As a recent drama graduate, this felt very degrading and I felt that it added to the unflattering and unfair stigma that professional companies often have when tossing up the idea of employing new graduates.
Sanja Simić’s direction was exciting and I particularly loved the actors moving about the stage during preshow, as well as the use of the hand-held speaker to play the music. The direction led to the meta-nature of the text being realised in the blocking on stage. Justin Harrison’s video design captured the epic feeling of the original Shakespearean tragedy, whilst adding a slice of humour when the projection cleverly transforms into Tic Tok live stream/
Whilst the actors Chenoa Deemal, Billy Fogarty, Giema Contini, Bryan Probets and Will Carseldine gave the work their all, unfortunately they didn’t have a sound framework from the writer’s desk. Ultimately, this work needed more creative development before it was brought to a mainstage. The only way from here is up.
