The Birthday Party or Julius Caesar (advice please)

[Pennywise57]

Hi I'm down in London on 16th and 17th of March. I'm seeing Hamilton on the 17th (YAY can't wait) and also meant to be seeing The Birthday Party on the 16th but I'm unsure about whether I want to now or not.

You see I've had Hamilton booked since last year and I normally like to book an extra show when I come down to London to get money's worth out of the trip a bit more. I was struggling to figure out what to book as my extra show. After much humming and harring, I decided to go for The Birthday Party but this was mainly because Pearl Mackie was in it as I'd really enjoyed her in Doctor Who. The plot blurb wasn't enticing me too much. I've since found out that her part in this isn't the biggest. That's not a problem but I'm also slightly worried that I won't enjoy the play as well as I've since seen that it's can be quite confusing and hard to follow. I've seen films that have been quite complex and hard to follow before and have enjoyed them but sometimes only "got" and truly appreciated them with repeated viewings. Obviously I won't get a chance to do this with The Birthday Party as I'm so far away from London, so I'm now worried that I won't get it and therefore won't enjoy it very much and then it ends up a wasted opportunity where i could have seen something else instead. Is it really hard to follow?

I'm thinking maybe I should try to get a ticket to Julius Caesar at the Bridge Theatre instead as that looks really intriguing. The thing is though, I'm a complete and utter Shakespeare virgin. I'm always wanted to try some of his plays but have never known where to begin. This Production looks very exciting though and I figure it might be a good place to start. Those of you who have seen it, Do you think it's an accessible play and production for a complete newb like me to start off with. I also see that NT Live are broadcasting this into cinemas so maybe I should just see it at the cinema instead but I worry it might loose something from stage to screen and I would hate for my first Shakespeare experience to be disappointing due to something not coming across right in the cinema.

Any advice anyone can give would be greatly appreciated as I'm in a real predicament about this. Thanks a lot!

[Deleted]

Overall

For acting and staging

I would recommend Julius Caesar

It’s pacy exciting and unique

The Birthday Party
Is pretentious

And the acting is quite horrific

[Deleted]

Whatever you choose I’d suggest to do some reading about the play and productions of it, See what other people think about what they mean and it allows you to enter the theatre with a better understanding of what you are going to watch. Don’t worry about knowing the story, for classic plays that doesn’t affect things much, it’s the way they are done that makes them interesting.

Too many times I see people disappointed because they missed things when just an hour or two of googling would have helped turn their investment into a much richer experience.

[NeilVHughes]

Julius Caesar at the Bridge is a great introduction to Shakespeare.

Great cast, pacy and one of Shakespeare’s most accessible plays.


The Birthday Party by comparison is a more difficult play and as Parsley stated can be pretentious, Pinter can be hard work and some preparation or prior appreciation helps, Pearl is not one of the central characters and not really enough reason in itself to see the play.

[Deleted]

I always feel like I'm missing something with Pinter and consequently generally avoid him these days, but I got a lot out of this production of The Birthday Party. That said, I also enjoyed Caesar, and I think it's a less obfuscating watch, so either's a worthwhile trip but Caesar's probably a safer bet.

[caa]

Julius Caesar is a good play to see if you have never seen a Shakespeare production, and this version is one of the best and its easy to follow what is going on

[underthestudy]

Julius at the bridge and get standing tickets.

[Stephen]

I've seen both and really enjoyed both.

Julius Caesar is very exciting, immersive and something you'll be talking to people about for a long time.

The Birthday Party I enjoyed just as much though it's very different.

If you don't know Julius Caesar do a little bit of research, but this is a very clear accessible production.

[Deleted]

Julius Caesar has little Benny Whishaw. The Birthday Party doesn't. 'nuff said.

[Pennywise57]

Thanks everyone for all your advice.

I tried to get a ticket to see Julius Caesar but had no luck. I'm in a wheelchair so that can sometimes complicate things. Theatres only have a limited number of wheelchair spaces so when they're gone, they're gone. Having said that though, It does sometimes work to my advantage. Network was a very good example of this. I'd seen on the National Theatre website that it appeared to be sold out for all dates. I thought I would just try anyway though as I know from passed experience that this often doesn't include disabled tickets. Sure enough, When I phoned up, the helpful woman I spoke to said that although the website said it was sold out, I could virtually pick any day I wanted as they had sold very few wheelchair tickets. Anyway, I digress.

Because of that then, It looks like the choice has been made for me and I think I will stick to The Birthday Party.

Do you think it's still worth me seeing Julius Caesar in the cinema as a first Shakespeare experience, or might it loose something being broadcast in the cinema and I'd be better off waiting to see another exciting production of Shakespeare live in the theatre?

@cardinalpirelli , NeilVHughes and Stephen Thanks for suggesting to do a bit of research. I think that will definitely help.

I would If I could underthestudy but I think in this case, I would just add an extra element of immersion to the play by ending up as a prop on the floor that the actors have to step over. 

[Deleted]

I don't mind cinema screenings of plays. Sure, you lose out on atmosphere and the overall picture, plus cameras will often focus on the actor who's speaking even though the actor who's listening is often just as interesting if not more so, but you do gain in terms of close ups, comfortable seating, and a reasonable journey home. I'm seriously considering seeing Caesar at the cinena myself, 'cos I was so embroiled in the pit drama that I can hardly remember any of the acting itself.

[joem]

Seeing a relay of a play is somewhere in between seeing a play and seeing a film. It won't spoil your first ever visit to see Shakespeare in a theatre as it is a different experience.

Glad you will get to see The Birthday Party. It is performed less often than Julius Caesar but it is a magnificent play, one of the finest written in the twentieth century.

[Stephen]

You'll have a brilliant time at The Birthday Party! Let us know what you think.