'Julius Caesar' – Shakespeare's prototypical political thriller that could have just as easily been written four years ago as it was over 400.
The historical drama is set around the assassination of Julius Caesar by a conspiracy led by Brutus and Cassius, and remains one of the most poignant analyses of power ever written.
Dancer and actress Ghenoa Gela plays the dual roles of Casca and Messala in the Bell Shakespeare company adaptation now touring the country. It's her first ever foray into Shakespearean theatre, especially considering she was the winner of last year's Deadly Funny comedy competition.
“It's really exciting to be in a show pretty much straight after the Deadly Funnys to see what it's like to try and navigate that within a play like Shakespeare,” Ghenoa says.
“Shakespeare was not at the forefront of my artistic journey before now, of course, so trying to navigate that was really fun. [Director] James Evans really gave me licence to muck around and see how things sit, and also I get some really good support from the cast.”
Ghenoa says her comedy background comes in handy particularly for the character of Casca, who she says serves as a kind of comic relief within the narrative.
Ghenoa Gela - Image © Prudence Upton
“Casca is actually not really aware of what's happening around her, she's kind of just going along with the flow until Cassius successfully manipulates her to become a conspirator,” Ghenoa explains.
“She's a part of the senate and there's a big scene I do with Nick Simpson-Deeks where he convinces me through my superstitious values that Caesar is not a good person to have in power, and that's how Cassius gets me on board. Casca is also the first one that stabs Caesar; she stabs him in the neck but that doesn't take him down so we have to keep going until he's dead.”
By contrast, her role as Messala requires a more serious application of Ghenoa's performance skills.
“I like Messala and I wish there was a bit more Messala for me to play in the show,” she says. “I play Casca as naïve and a little bit of a jumpy 'fraidy-cat, but Messala is a grounded soldier and I play her quite straight and strong, so to speak.”
Image © Prudence Upton
Though set around the time when the Roman Republic became the Roman Empire, the message and themes of 'Julius Caesar' are no less relevant over four centuries after it was first believed to be written (c. 1599), when politicians and orators still manipulated the fear of the people in pursuit of power and 'the greater good'.
“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions,” Ghenoa neatly summarises.
“Brutus honestly believes that he's doing Rome a favour by taking out Julius Caesar but it's quite sad that he didn't foresee the ramifications of the actions of taking out this voice of the people.
“Because Octavius ends up ruling Rome later anyway as empire, which is what they were trying to avoid in the first place, so it's almost like they let it happen; crazy buggers.”
