THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY RETURNS…

“Julius Caesar is the perfect play for our age of emergency,"

We're delighted to welcome the Royal Shakespeare Company back to Hall for Cornwall this spring with this fast-paced political thriller. Whether you can recite every word of this play, or you're yet to hear the lines passionately performed on the stage, what better way to experience it than at the newly renovated Cornwall Playhouse?

Synopsis...

Concerned that Caesar poses a threat to democracy, revolutionaries take the violent decision to murder him. They have no plan for what comes next. As the world spins out of control, chaos, horror and superstition rush in to fill the void. Civil war erupts and a new leader must rise: but at what cost?

Join us for drama and excitement as the Royal Shakespeare Company returns to our stage this April. Julius Caesar's thought-provoking storyline will keep you on the edge of your seat as the characters navigate the treacherous waters of power and ambition.

Meet the Cast...

Joining Nigel Barrett (Julius Caesar) and the formiddable Thalissa Teixeira (Brutus) is a cast of talented individuals with a portfolio that includes television's Call the Midwife, Doctors, and The Witcher, and theatre's Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Pictured: (Left to Right) Nigel Barrett (Julius Caesar), Thalissa Teixeira (Brutus), and Kelly Gough (Cassius).

Along side this carefully thought-out casting will be 2 deaf actors performing sign language throughout the performance.

For each location on their tour, the Royal Shakespeare Company have also invited along community champions and leaders to join the cast of Julius Caesar on the stage as part of the play. Each group will partake in 5 weeks of rehearsals before performing alongside actors from one of the most well-known theatre companies in the UK.

Emily Kent, Michelle Sudworth, Laura Allen, Molly Banks, Amy Rom and Lisa McNally have been handpicked by HfC for the inspiring contributions each of these wonderful women make to the community. We are in awe of all the women who make things happen for the creative industries right across Cornwall and beyond, and are thrilled to welcome them to Hall for Cornwall.

The choir have been prepped for their performance by local Musical Director & Community Chorus leader, Matthew Thomason. We’re so grateful for all of his help and guidance over the last few weeks helping to prepare the chorus ready for action. He's been flexing his creative talents to lead singing techniques, breathing and vocal exercises, as well as teaching songs and cues.

Matthew is a composer for Film, Theatre, Games and Dance currently living in Falmouth. His most recent projects of note as a composer include: Europa (Game 2023); Long Way Back (o-region 2022); A Short Film About Ice (Black Cat Films 2020), HIRETH (Sound Design o-region 2018), as well as touring solo piano performances of his new suite ‘Gwlaskor’ across Europe. He also has 12 years experience as a Music Director in theatre and the community, most recently working on Melior Opus Griot (Hall For Cornwall 2022).

"When asked to imagine a better future for us all, what resources do we have left? What are the limits of peaceful activism? How far would you, personally, go, to make the world a better place?"

Meet the Director...

Atri Banerjee won The Stage Debut Award for Best Director, and a UK Theatre Award nomination for his production of Hobson’s Choice at the Royal Exchange Manchester. Other credits include The Glass Menagerie (Royal Exchange Manchester), Britannicus (Lyric Hammersmith), Kes (Octagon Theatre, Bolton/Theatre By The Lake, Keswick), Harm (Bush Theatre, also broadcast on BBC Four), and Utopia (Royal Exchange Theatre).  Last year Atri was named in The Stage 25 list of theatre-makers to look out for in 2022 and beyond, and in November 2022, along with Rachel Bagshaw, he was awarded a Peter Hall bursary by the National Theatre, which will support Atri in developing work for the NT’s stages.