Julius Caesar review, CLF Art Cafe Theatre

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears... There are some venues that seem to have a blight and until tonight, I thought the CLF Art Cafe Theatre in Peckham was one of them. The last couple of things seen there didn't make it to review, because it would have been too cruel on people who believed what they were presenting constituted drama. Tonight, the curse was lifted. If you are inclined to head south, pack yourself a thermos and some soft food - sarnies or chocolate - and grab a ticket for Julius Caesar: it's two hours of beautifully spoken and compelling Shakespeare.

Samuel Wood's elegant, monochrome, production takes place on a stage of whitewashed pallets and a row of fruit boxes. With a cast of ten the action is pared right back and easy to follow. Julius Caesar and his missis are in white, and the plotters and Caesar's heirs in sharply tailored black tunics and trousers. That's it. No props save a small dagger and some stage blood. It's all kept together with whispering, rabble-rousing and murder. As well as looking great, the sound is really terrific - it makes it feel a much bigger production than it is. Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!

There was nothing I didn't like about this production except, perhaps, Caesar himself, who seemed to loom instead of blend, but he's skewered early enough and reduced to the occasional spectral promenade around the edges of the action. I have only seen the key speech at Caesar's funeral - Friends, Romans, Countrymen - with Marc Anthony elevated and the crowd looking up to him. Here he crouches down so they're face-to-face. It's highly effective. Matthew Crowley is a still and affecting Anthony, ratcheting the tension till the rage bursts through. Vangelis Christoldoulou and Adam Elms as the honourable Brutus and his impatient brother Cassius, are so convincing in their intimacy it's as if they're really blood. Max Warrick is very funny as the servant, Lucius.

In Conclusion: Two hours without a break is a hard call for the excellent cast - Matthew Eades, Peter Rae, Gareth Wildig, James Barnes, Luke Oliver, Kellie Walters and Charlotte Gascoyne - and it's tough on the audience. Take a picnic and don't worry if you occasionally fidget or slump. With such a tight structure you can intermittently zone out without losing the plot.

References
Julius Caesar, Tickets


CLF Art Cafe Theatre, Block A, Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, Peckham SE15 4ST   Run ends 25 October