Sunday, May 17, 2009

Radio review – MT#10 – “Julius Caesar” (1938) ****

The Mercury’s fascist updating of Shakespeare’s play is one of the most famous in theatre history; this radio version of it is pretty good too. (If only Welles had managed to get the cast of the Voodoo Macbeth to record that on radio! Not to mention other Mercury theatre productions, like Horse Eats Hat, Heartbreak House, Danton's Death and Shoemaker's Holiday.)

It has wonderful acting and is very easy to understand (helped by some condensing - no female roles, for instance - and narration taken from Plutarch). Orson Welles is a strong Brutus, but really all the cast is good, including George Colouris as Anthony. He includes the bit where Brutus is sung to by a young bard, the part played by Zac Efron in Me and Orson Welles.) Marc Blitzten did the music.

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