Julius Caesar free screening billed for month end
Staff Writer | Thursday February 18, 2016 15:26
The New Yorker described the ensemble as ‘extraordinary’, while the UK’s Daily Telegraph exhorted audiences to “Hail this brutal and bloody Caesar.”
Featuring a black cast, Julius Caesar tells the tragic tale of a plot to assassinate the Roman leader of the title, and the horrifying consequences faced by the group of conspirators.
Set in a modern-day fictional African country, this production asks poignantly relevant contemporary questions about power, responsibility and democracy.
Shakespeare o a Tshela is part of a global programme of activities, Shakespeare Lives, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death through performance, workshops, education and digital arts. Shakespeare o a Tshela aims to expose new audiences in Botswana to Shakespeare’s work and provide educators with new tools with which to teach it.
It also seeks to strengthen the understanding of Shakespeare in schools and how his work can be used to promote literacy and reading, as well as to share British methodologies, knowledge and expertise in the teaching of creative disciplines in Botswana. Shakespeare Lives is also part of the UK government’s GREAT Britain Campaign, which aims to promote the UK internationally as a GREAT place to visit, study and do business.
Shakespeare o a Tshela began in October with a film festival for a total of 1,300 private and government school students at New Capitol Cinemas, Gaborone.
The project continues through to April 2016 with free public screenings of Shakespeare films (Muse of Fire, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night and Julius Caesar) at Maitisong; actor and theatre practitioner student and teacher workshop visits from the UK (including Shakespeare’s Globe) and South Africa (ShakeXperience) to Botswana; an ongoing digital content production and showcasing programme in association with AFDA and Gabz FM; project activity podcasts; free Skype lectures delivered to Batswana students by The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust; a free outdoor Shakespeare film screening by New Capitol Cinemas to students in Maun and a live showcase event of students’ work at the Maitisong Festival in April 2016. More project activity is being added at the time of writing.