Julius a go go
Aulos Productions crowdfund football Caesar
The cut-throat world of football politics forms the background of Aulos Productions’ planned production of Julius Caesar, to be staged in March 2016.
This is the Edinburgh-based amateur student company’s first foray into Shakespeare and they are seeking £500 funding for the production through an Indiegogo crownfunding campaign.
Advance publicity shot for Julius Caesar
With the non-revelations of what exactly has gone on at top of Fifa and who has been greasing whose palms in the back rooms – while Sepp Blatter has been banned from football for eight years – this would appear to be a most timely updating.
Describing the production on the Indiegogo campaign page, Aulos say: “Our production explores questions of factional identity, institutional corruption and the dual nature of footballer and celebrity.
“Whilst maintaining the use of Shakespeare’s original language for the performance, we also intend to use film and projection throughout the performance with specially recorded newsreel segments and in-universe product adverts.”
The company is looking for £350 to help cover extra costs to its costume budget for buying football kits. The remaining £150 will go to help with publicity and venue costs.
in-universe adverts
As they say: “With the factional nature of Julius Caesar, it is vital to our aesthetic that we capture that divide in the most visual way possible. As you can imagine, kitting out an entire Shakespearean cast is expensive at the best of times, particularly when it’s not only in football kits but in other costumes as well. In addition to the performances, we intend to use the kits heavily in our advance publicity.”
The company are offering a range of inducements for donations, from tickets to acting workshops. There is also the opportunity for what they descibe as “tongue-in-cheek” in-universe adverts, which can be part of the set and pre-publicity.
Aulos Productions grew out of the student theatre scene at the Bedlam. It was formed in 2014 by playwright and director James Beagon whose writing and directing credits include adaptations of Rosemary Sutcliff’s Sword at Sunset’ and J.K Rowling’s Beedle the Bard.
The company’s first production wasthe fringe 2014 show: First Class, a collaboration with Relief Theatre. This was followed by A Winter’s Oresteia in early 2015 and the fringe 2015 production Women of the Mourning Fields.
Listing and links
Et Tu Partay?
Fund-raising costume party and pub quiz.
Wee Red Bar, Lauriston Place, EH3 9DF
Friday 15 January 2016, 7.30pm.
Tickets and details: www.sparkseat.com
Facebook page: www.facebook.com
Julius Caesar
Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, EH1 1EL
Tuesday 1 – Saturday 5 March 2016
Daily at 7.30 pm
Full details of funding campaign can be found on the indiegogo page: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/julius-caesar–4#/
Aulos Productions website: http://aulosproductions.com/
Aulos on facebook: AulosProductions/
Aulos on twitter: @AulosProduction
ENDS
