Join us in the Mansion House at Calderstones Park for a day in the company of Shakespeare and his Roman political actors, with the presence of great African American thinker, James Baldwin, alongside as a guiding light.
Julius Caesar, wrote James Baldwin, was the play that made him stop hating Shakespeare:
“I still remember my shock when I finally heard these lines from the murder scene in Julius Caesar. The assassins are washing their hands in Caesar’s blood. Cassius says:
‘Stoop then, and wash. — How many ages hence
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over,
In states unborn and accents yet unknown!’
What I suddenly heard, for the first time, was manifold. It was the voice of lonely, dedicated, deluded Cassius, whose life had never been real for me before — I suddenly seemed to know what this moment meant to him.”
Read (or watch) the play in advance, if you can, but if you can’t, come anyway. We’ll structure the day around a number of key points in the play. No advanced knowledge or experience of Shakespeare is needed at all.
The day will be hosted by Jane Davis, Founder and Director of The Reader, and Ben Davis, her son. They have been reading and watching Shakespeare together for a long time.
As this is an all-day event, we’ll be taking a lunch break – feel free to bring along a packed lunch or The Reader Café will also be open with a delicious menu of hot and cold food and drinks.
Shakespeare’s Globe will be bringing their production of Julius Caesar to Calderstones on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 June. Book tickets online here.