Giving a glimpse of the process behind the play, Karen Oberer’s work as Repercussion’s resident dramaturge is explored in an article by The Canadian Jewish News‘ Heather Solomon. The work of providing cast and company members with background materials and scholarly articles is foregrounded in Solomon’s piece, and we are reminded that incredible amounts of work, including literary and historical research, are needed to stage a play. Oberer speaks to the collective effort undertaken to ensure the production’s depth of concept and performance, to the point that, as Solomon phrases it, the company members “have become comrades in arms to realize the project”.
Oberer also explores Julius Caesar‘s skewed gender dynamics, and the shifts that occur when the play is staged with an all-female cast. The problematic role of women in many of Shakespeare’s works is touched upon, and Oberer notes that in Repercussion’s Caesar “[women] don’t have to make excuses for their gender”. The discussion of gender is, however, not simply framed within the context of the play itself, but considered in light of the practical realities facing female actors…
(From left to right) G. Jain as Mark Antony; D. MacKay as Caius Cassius (background); W. Setshwaelo as Caska
The full article (originally published Monday, July 25th) can be found here.