La Boite chews up Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and spits out a hilarious, earnest, and political metatheatrical work about making art that represents who and where we truly are. Directed by Sanja Simić, CAESAR is not an adaptation in the sense that we have come to expect, and certainly not a transplant from one context to another. Five female and non-binary playwrights tackled the five acts of Shakespeare’s political thriller in this clever new production that pushed the boundaries of form and held up a mirror to theatre making, rehearsal spaces, and the state of the industry, our society, and our selves.

CAESAR at La Boite. Photograph © Morgan Roberts

A cast of actors and the Assistant Stage Manager entered, preparing to present a production of Julius Caesar at La Boite – an adaptation that cast Caesar as a modern politician in the midst of climate riots, with women playing the roles of Brutus and Cassius. Over the five acts these characters met, rehearsed, disagreed, joked, workshopped, fought, and confided in one another. The show must go on, but things were beginning to unravel behind the scenes. Like...