The holidays are upon us! Celebrate by substituting the words to your favorite carols with these decidedly more Shakespearean verses:
Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 2 (part 3)
Oh, I'm sorry. Did you think Antony's speech-making ended after the whole "friends, Romans, countrymen" bit? Oh no. Oh no he's JUST GETTING STARTED.
Mark Antony: master of mass emotional manipulation.
Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 2 (part 2)
HERE IT IS. THE LINE. THE SPEECH.
You probably had to memorize this speech for school sometime, but don't let that put you off it. It's actually a REALLY GOOD SPEECH. There are lots of fun versions of it on YouTube. Here's Marlon Brando from the 1953 film:
Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 2 (part 1)
OK, let's get those speeches started! First we have Brutus's prose preaching:
It's kind of a pity Brutus's speech is often overshadowed by The Big Speech that follows it, because it's really very good. You 100% believe Brutus's sincerity and good intentions. Too bad he didn't listen to Cassius about Antony...
Speaking of Cassius, we never hear what he says to the angry mob he is delegated to speak with. What did he say? Was he as convincing as Brutus? Did it work to placate the mob or did they throw tomatoes at him? Theories on the back of a postcard, please.
Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 1 (part 4)
OK, let's wrap up the Assassination scene so we can move on to the Everyone Making Big Speeches scene.
I love the Servant who comes on here and has an emotional breakdown at the sight of Caesar's body. One of the better spearcarrier roles in Shakespeare, in my opinion.
Tune in next week for SPEECHES! Lots of SPEECHES! They're REALLY GOOD SPEECHES.
Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 1 (part 3)
Yep, we're still here, in the Capitol, with a dead body on the ground. Get used to it.
Julius Caesar isn't exactly packed with laughs, but as far as I'm concerned, Cassius's line "Brutus, a word with you" is the most hilarious line in the entire play.
Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 1 (part 2)
WE'RE HERE. IT'S HAPPENING.
It's really interesting how comparatively silent Caesar's assassination is. Apart from Casca, nobody says anything until after Caesar is dead. Usually in Shakespeare people say things like "Take that!" or "There's for you!" or just plain "DIE" when they stab someone, but the conspirators are all business here.
Anyways. Everything is going to go massively downhill now. I'm sure this doesn't come as a shock to you.
Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 1 (part 1)
WE'RE HERE. FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS, IT'S GOING TO BE A BUMPY ACT.
LOOK BEHIND YOU, CAESAR.
Giving Tuesday
It's Giving Tuesday! If you can, take the time today to donate to the charity or non-profit of your choice. I'm a big fan of supporting local arts practitioners, so I will be donating to Shakespeare in Detroit, my local Shakespeare company.
I will also be donating to the Redeeming Time Project, a labour of love and compassion by a friend of mine which runs rehabilitative theatrical arts workshops (including a lot of Shakespeare) with the incarcerated in Minnesota.
There are more groups doing great theatrical and community work out there than I can possibly name here. If there is a group near and dear to your heart, leave a note in the comments or share it with me on Twitter and I'll endeavor to spread the word today.