(Michael Billington’s article appeared in the Guardian,1/11.)
I was tickled by the Observer's recent, inadvertent description of a malt whisky as "a genuine classic which never fails to disappoint". I've always felt that Julius Caesar was a bit like that: rarely living up to its advance billing as Shakespeare's most sophisticated political thriller. But Lucy Bailey's production, much improved since its Stratford debut 18 months ago, now makes a good case for the play and strikes the right balance between the visceral and intellectual.