As the audience arrived at this modern-day production of Julius Caesar they were greeted with television images of Caesar’s conquest of “barbarian” Gaul. Other headlines broadcast news of war in Egypt and a suppressed rebellion in Spain. The implication being that propaganda was as rife in the ancient world as it is today.
Sharply dressed politicos worked the Guildford Shakespeare Company’s audience, encouraging us to support their candidate and organising Mexican waves. This was supervised by sinister-looking spies, busy eroding the liberty which Romans valued so highly. It was easy to see why the play’s conspirators were so outraged by Caesar’s desire for dominance.
