Julius Caesar

The space between Julius Caesar and Malcolm X
Al Letson’s play Julius X acts as a sort of Venn diagram that allows us to twice witness a familiar text (Julius Caesar), with a harsh and violent moment of American history that marked a significant contest waged by Black Americans for freedom and equality.

Julius Caesar meets Julius X
Discover books, costume sketches, and theatrical props for Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in the Folger collection along with items from Folger Theatre’s production of Al Letson’s Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.

Al Letson on his play Julius X
Journalist, playwright, and poet Al Letson talks about Julius X, his play that borrows lines, characters, and plot from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to tell the story of Malcolm X. He shares the play’s origins and his approach to creating art.

Quiz: How much do you know about "Julius Caesar"?
Challenge yourself with this new quiz about Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.

Director Rosa Joshi on Julius Caesar Today
Rosa Joshi’s bold staging of Julius Caesar at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, performed entirely by women and nonbinary actors, reframes Shakespeare’s political thriller for today’s fight against autocracy.

Famous quotes from Julius Caesar
Shakespeare’s tragedy is filled with memorable lines, including Mark Antony’s speech that begins “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears.” Explore some of the play’s most well-known quotes.

We know you think Julius Caesar is boring
We ask theater artists across the country to tell us why it isn’t.

Order It: Mark Antony's "Friends, Romans, countrymen"
Interested in politics and communication? Try our quiz and rearrange the lines of Mark Antony’s “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech from Julius Caesar, a famous passage from Shakespeare’s plays and a brilliant example of political oratory.

‘Julius Caesar’ and Shakespeare’s change in the American curriculum, from rhetoric to literature
Early 19th-century American students would study speeches from Shakespeare’s plays as examples of good public speaking, not as literature. How did Shakespeare’s place in the school curriculum change?

Beware the Ides of March — and confusing interpretations of 'Julius Caesar'
Don’t let the title fool you! William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is about the death of a tyrant, but its title character is not its central protagonist. Shakespeare’s play focuses instead on two of the leaders of the conspiracy: Gaius Cassius and Marcus Brutus.

Harriet Walter
In 2012, London’s Donmar Warehouse opened an all-female Julius Caesar, starring Dame Harriet Walter as Brutus and directed by Tony nominee Phyllida Lloyd. Set in a women’s prison, it was the first of a trilogy of all-female productions, all starring Walter.

Drawing Shakespeare: Julius Caesar
Artist Paul Glenshaw describes drawing the Folger bas-relief of “Julius Caesar,” in which assassins with their knives start to turn away as Caesar dies. He pairs the image with a painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme at the Walters Art Museum in…