Theatre Design

Caesar and Cleopatra


Speculative Design
Young Vic Theatre

Director: Vanda Butkovic
Designer: Laura Foy

Caesar and Cleopatra

Ra states during the prologue of Caesar and Cleopatra that: “Ye shall marvel, after your ignorant manner, that men twenty centuries ago were already just such as you, and spoke and lived as ye speak and live, no better, no wiser and no sillier”. This message formed the inspiration for my design.

I chose to place the story of Caesar and Cleopatra within the current troubles of Egypt. A collection of broken structures within a residential neighbourhood provides a climbing frame for the action. The story will be presented as a game of make believe performed by children within the ruins of their homes, a game to escape the troubles surrounding them. The child performers remind us of the childish nature of the politics within the play and the selfishness of the glory and power seeking characters of Caesar and Cleopatra.