August 8, 2012 was the day that my views of Shakespeare would be altered forever. It was the opening night of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Julius Caesar. However, the play was set in modern day West Africa. The actors not only brilliantly delivered Shakespeare's Heightened language, but they spoke in west African dialect as well.The interpretation of this production from an African perspective epitomized the elements of humor within Shakespeare's text. I truly believed that I had been taken to my homeland of Nigeria for two hours. The characters performed customs such as libations, greetings to elders, and Julius Caesar even had a horse tail which is indeed an indicator of one who is a king in Yoruba Culture. The themes of conspiracy, corruption, betrayal, and coup are all typical of modern day African government and politics. Speeches such as Mark Antony's "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears," took me on a spiritual journey with endless possibilities. Portia, Brutus' wife gave a stellar performance and redefined the role that I had seen many times before. The love that she had for Brutus was undeniable and her defiant yet graceful demeanor was absolutely stunning. She was not a pitiful weak woman by any means at all.Portia exemplified the role of the African woman and the respect that men have for women in traditional African societies. For example, the Yoruba Goddesses Oya, Yemoja, Osun, Olokun etc. Even the smaller roles such as Lucius, Brutus' servant grabbed my attention throughout the entire show. The dynamic of Brutus and Lucuis' relationship resembled a father and a son. This production of Julius Caesar instilled my belief in the future of African theater and the different cultural interpretations of Shakespeare. The show is coming to New York Spring of 2013 and I highly recommend this show to anyone and everyone!
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