Collective Will: Shakespeare's The Tragedie of Julius Caesar

This project situates William Shakespeares The Tragedie of Julius Caesar as a secular Passion Play, whose central themes of collective violence and sacrifice will underpin a directorial approach that seeks to actively engage and include the audience in the staging and dramaturgy. This will be accomplished by using popular models of crowd constellations such as the sporting event, the religious assembly and the protest rally, as design, staging and conceptual templates. By emphasizing the social dimension of the High Park Amphitheatre audience, we create conditions for them to be self aware of the nature, power and potential of their assembly, the ideal place from which to explore the themes of civic responsibility and government for which the play is famous.