So, Act 1 Scene 2 of Julius Caesar - what's happening in this scene?
Well, we've all just come on with Caesar as a huge entourage in the middle of a festival.
A soothsayer has just told him to 'beware the ides of March'. Caesar's dismissed him
and they've moved on to go and watch a big race which involves Antony and other runners.
Cassius and Brutus are left alone on stage.
It's not a pre-arranged meeting?
I don't think so. Cassius has had some thoughts; the situation is getting worse with Caesar,
he's taking over more and more, he's punching well above his weight in terms of what he
should be as an Emporer.
And what about Brutus?
Well I think what's interesting about this scene is there's lots of different ways you
could approach it. I think you learn quite quickly that he's obviously preoccupied with
something, something's on his mind and he hasn't quite been himself; he's been quite
distant. To me, it's always been clear that he's been preoccupied about the way Caesar's
acting. Caesar's taking too much power on himself.
So you've been having concerns about what's happening in Rome?
Yes.
What do you think Cassius wants in this scene?
Well I think it shifts. I think the beginning of the scene, he simply wants out of his,
sort of, frustration and being hurt; he wants to confront Brutus and say 'what is going
on between us? Why are you behaving in this way?'. It might be that Brutus tells him that
he's had enough of him, and that's the end of it and the friendship's dying, but what
happens in fact is that Brutus says that he's had some things on his mind, and that's why
he's been behaving in this way, because he's been caught up in some dark thoughts himself.
And at that point, Cassius' objective shifts, where he sees, or wonders whether they are
the same dark thoughts.
I think the danger's great, isn't it, so we've got the danger of, 'you're in a public space,
anybody could come back at any moment, you wouldn't want anyone to overhear this conversation';
and also the nature of what you're talking about is really dangerous as well.
Even each other, potentially I could bring up 'Caesar's a dangerous man and we should
do something about it and you could shop me in'. You could say 'I absolutely disagree
with you, and I'm going to go to the authorities'.
Yes 'I'm going to tell Caesar right now' - there's always that danger as well because Cassius
is very aware that despite their own closeness, Brutus has a particularly special relationship
with Caesar.
Shall we try a version then, where we really turn the dial up on the danger, on the awareness
that somebody might be nearby somebody could be overhearing; shall we have a go at that
version?
Yes, definitely.
Brutus: Vexèd I am of late with passions of some
difference, Conceptions only proper to myself, Which give some soil, perhaps, to my behaviors.
But let not therefore my good friends be grieved (Among which number, Cassius, be you one)
Nor construe any further my neglect Than that poor Brutus, with himself at war, Forgets
the shows of love to other men.
Cassius: Then, Brutus, I have much mistook your passion, By means whereof this breast
of mine hath buried Thoughts of great value, worthy cogitations. Tell me, good Brutus,
can you see your face?
Brutus: No, Cassius, for the eye sees not itself But by reflection, by some other things.
Cassius: ’Tis just. And it is very much lamented, Brutus, That you have no such mirrors
as will turn Your hidden worthiness into your eye, That
you might see your shadow. I have heard Where many of the best respect in Rome, Except immortal
Caesar, speaking of Brutus And groaning underneath this age’s yoke, Have wished that noble
Brutus had his eyes.
Brutus: Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius, That you would have me seek into
myself For that which is not in me?
So how was it, doing that version where we were thinking about 'the danger' all around?
I think it pre-empts that at the beginning they were not talking about anything which
could be construed as suspicious, or 'anti' the regime and then you have less impact when
Cassius does say something like 'groaning underneath this age's yoke' and it just feels
like we know from the beginning where the scene's going to end up, and then there's
not as far to go.
And it's not a regime where we can't talk, but it is a regime where we can't talk about
certain things, so it suddenly became that we were in, I don't know, some extraordinarily
regime.
Yes, some sort of police state where there's CCTV cameras -
If that were the case we simply wouldn't have that conversation.
Outside, yeah.
We'd go somewhere else.
So what could be another way of approaching the scene?
I wonder what will come out if we try it that it certainly is as much Brutus is working
on Cassius in his way -
So we're completely flipping it on its head in a way, and Brutus is the one driving it
- he's trying to manipulate Cassius - and see whether that brings anything out?
Ok.
Let's give it a go.
Brutus: Vexèd I am of late with passions of some
difference, Conceptions only proper to myself, Which give some soil, perhaps, to my behaviors.
But let not therefore my good friends be grieved (Among which number, Cassius, be you one)
Nor construe any further my neglect Than that poor Brutus, with himself at war, Forgets
the shows of love to other men.
Cassius: Then, Brutus, I have much mistook your passion, By means whereof this breast
of mine hath buried Thoughts of great value, worthy cogitations. Tell me, good Brutus,
can you see your face?
Brutus: No, Cassius, for the eye sees not itself But by reflection, by some other things.
Cassius: ’Tis just. And it is very much lamented, Brutus, That you have no such mirrors
as will turn Your hidden worthiness into your eye, That
you might see your shadow. I have heard Where many of the best respect in Rome, Except immortal
Caesar, speaking of Brutus And groaning underneath this age’s yoke, Have wished that noble
Brutus had his eyes.
Brutus: Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius, That you would have me seek into
myself For that which is not in me?
How was that for you both?
I think it was probably a bit too far, but there's just, there's something interesting
that it brought out for me about their relationship - that he sort of knows that Cassius is emotionally
dependent on his love and his need in some way. It was quite fun to just be, I'm here
to like 'try and play upon me, I'm open to options'.
And you touched him a bit more, didn't you? You sort of went up to him -
This is going to make you feel better and this is like, you know, I haven't shown you
love so I'm going to show you love now. They're dependent on each other in their own ways,
and that just took it to the extreme; the level of control that Brutus thinks he has
over Cassius and I just think there's somewhere in the middle, it's very clever the choices,
the way Cassius actually approaches it with Brutus, and that Brutus doesn't realise that
his ego's being appealed to, but underneath it all that he thinks Cassius may be just
talking in general terms; but without really hearing it, it's like 'oh you're great, you're
great, people think you're great'. But I think it's somewhere in between, of not, if he was
completely, if he really didn't want to deal with, really didn't want to have the conversation
with Cassius, he'd just leave the stage but he doesn't. He chooses to - Cassius keeps
him on there, Cassius listening makes him hear.
Cassius didn't need to change that much, I felt he could just react to what you were
doing - he was still drawn in by you, still pursuing an objective. You were just making
that easier to achieve, because you were interested and opening up doors.
So it meant that you actually didn't have to work quite so hard to keep, as Brutus clearly
wanted to stay there.
And usually it's a little bit, it's a little bit more difficult for you isn't it?
Yes.