Portia's Julius Caesar
by Kaitlyn Riordan • adapted from William Shakespeare
Little Lion Theatre Company • The Space •2024
Little Lion Theatre Company • The Space •2024
Originally developed at The Dell, Stratford-upon-Avon · 2023
Shakespeare’s political tragedy reimagined from the edges, bringing the women of Rome to the centre and asking whose stories are remembered — and whose are left outside the history we inherit.
The ProductionPortia’s Julius Caesar takes Shakespeare’s familiar political tragedy and shifts its perspective, bringing the women who exist at the edges of the original play into the centre of its world.
Combining Shakespeare’s text with new writing by Kaitlyn Riordan, the adaptation expands the lives of Portia, Calpurnia and the women of Rome, allowing us to experience the political violence of the play through those who are so often excluded from its telling. I was interested in what happens when we change not the events of a familiar story, but who gets to tell it. The production became an exploration of power, visibility and the ways history is constructed around some voices while allowing others to disappear. |
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Reclaiming the Story
Looking at Shakespeare from the edges.
I love Shakespeare, but I'm also interested in the people his plays don't give enough space to. Julius Caesar gives us a Rome dominated by men making decisions about power, honour and the future of the state, while the women closest to them live with the consequences.
This adaptation gave us the opportunity to turn our attention towards those women without losing the political machinery of Shakespeare's original. Portia and Calpurnia were no longer interruptions in someone else's tragedy; their experiences became part of the way we understood Rome itself.
For me, the question wasn't about correcting Shakespeare. It was about changing the angle from which we look at him— and discovering what becomes visible when we do.
This adaptation gave us the opportunity to turn our attention towards those women without losing the political machinery of Shakespeare's original. Portia and Calpurnia were no longer interruptions in someone else's tragedy; their experiences became part of the way we understood Rome itself.
For me, the question wasn't about correcting Shakespeare. It was about changing the angle from which we look at him— and discovering what becomes visible when we do.
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Old Text, New Voices
The adaptation places Shakespeare's language alongside new writing, creating a conversation between the original play and voices that have historically been given less space within it.
I wanted those two languages to feel as though they belonged to the same theatrical world rather than treating the new material as commentary sitting outside Shakespeare. In rehearsal, we explored how rhythm, rhetoric and physical action could connect the texts, allowing the transitions between them to feel immediate and alive.
That collision between old and new became part of the pleasure of the production: Shakespeare's familiar story remained present, but we were able to hear it differently.
I wanted those two languages to feel as though they belonged to the same theatrical world rather than treating the new material as commentary sitting outside Shakespeare. In rehearsal, we explored how rhythm, rhetoric and physical action could connect the texts, allowing the transitions between them to feel immediate and alive.
That collision between old and new became part of the pleasure of the production: Shakespeare's familiar story remained present, but we were able to hear it differently.
The Personal is Political
The politics of Julius Caesar are enormous, but the consequences are deeply personal. Decisions made in public are carried back into marriages, friendships and homes.
By shifting the perspective towards the women, those private spaces became politically significant. Portia's relationship with Brutus and Calpurnia's attempts to reach Caesar weren't pauses in the political story — they revealed the human cost underneath it.
I wanted the production to hold those scales together: Rome changing outside while relationships fracture inside it.
By shifting the perspective towards the women, those private spaces became politically significant. Portia's relationship with Brutus and Calpurnia's attempts to reach Caesar weren't pauses in the political story — they revealed the human cost underneath it.
I wanted the production to hold those scales together: Rome changing outside while relationships fracture inside it.
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Rome in the Room
Direct relationship with the audience allowed the politics of Rome to feel immediate. Characters could recruit us, persuade us, confide in us and implicate us in the decisions being made.
Rather than watching history unfold at a safe distance, the audience became part of the public body these characters were trying to win over.
Rather than watching history unfold at a safe distance, the audience became part of the public body these characters were trying to win over.
From the Dell to the Space
The production began with a workshop presentation at The Dell in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2023 before developing into a full production at The Space in London the following year.
Moving from an outdoor Shakespeare space into an intimate London theatre gave us the opportunity to continue interrogating the relationship between text, audience and space while developing the visual and physical world of the production.
Moving from an outdoor Shakespeare space into an intimate London theatre gave us the opportunity to continue interrogating the relationship between text, audience and space while developing the visual and physical world of the production.
Building Rome
I wanted to find a theatrical language for Rome that could hold both the scale of Shakespeare’s political world and the intimacy of the stories Kaitlyn Riordan brings to the foreground.
With actors playing multiple roles, the ensemble became central to building that world. Through movement, sound and simple theatrical transformation, we could shift quickly between public and private spaces, allowing Rome to be continually made and remade in front of the audience.
With actors playing multiple roles, the ensemble became central to building that world. Through movement, sound and simple theatrical transformation, we could shift quickly between public and private spaces, allowing Rome to be continually made and remade in front of the audience.
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Cast
Portia: Kaya Bucholc Calpurnia: Ellen Trevaskiss Servilia: Oihane Rodriguez Marcus Brutus / Esther: Catherine Mieses Julius Caesar / Vera: Rachael Reshma Mark Anthony / Jurtha: Cicely Halkes-Wellstead Casca / Cleopatra / Soothsayer: Tresillian Brown Caius Cassius / Cecilia: Rosemary Lippard |
Creative Team
Writer / Adapter: Kaitlyn Riordan Original Text: William Shakespeare Director: Kay Brattan Producer: Alice Greening Assistant Producer: Lindsay Menzies Associate Director: Runa Røstad Augdal Sound Design: Kay Brattan Stage Manager: Isobel Paull Photos by Isobel Paull |
Press + Recognition
★★★★
“Under Kay Brattan’s direction, Portia’s Julius Caesar is a stripped-back, powerful production.”
LouReviews
“Under Kay Brattan’s direction, Portia’s Julius Caesar is a stripped-back, powerful production.”
LouReviews
OFF WEST END AWARD NOMINATION
Supporting Performance in a Play
Ellen Trevaskiss · Calpurnia
Supporting Performance in a Play
Ellen Trevaskiss · Calpurnia
