Julius Caesar at the Blackfriars Playhouse

I hadn't seen a show at the Blackfriars Playhouse since the fantastic opening night performance of Cyrano de Bergerac in March, but Saturday night I saw Julius Caesar.Although the performance began slowly, I thought, by the Act II the cast had clicked and the audience was engaged. In particular, the handling of the growing coup plot was effective in building tension (except when the sound effects threatened overwhelm the dialogue) and the actual murder of Caesar was enthralling. Joseph Langham was very good as Julius Caesar and Henry Bazemore, Jr. played a hip Cassius. But the standout performance for me was Adam Jonas Segaller as Brutus. He seemed in control both of the character’s integrity and emotions and, as Mark Antony says repeatedly of him, he is “an honourable man.”

Another fine evening with the American Shakespeare Center.