Julius Caesar

EN Arthur Nauzyciel returns to Luxembourg with one of the defining productions of his career. First created in 2008 at Boston’s American Repertory Theatre and revived to inaugurate his directorship of the Théâtre National de Bretagne in 2017, Julius Caesar has proven to be both a staging landmark and a persistent interrogation of democratic fragility, populism, and civic courage. Conceived during a US presidential campaign and revisited at subsequent political turning points, Nauzyciel’s production has repeatedly met history in real time. It continues to resonate uncannily, as one would expect from any Shakespearian work.

While Shakespeare placed his conspiracy in ancient Rome, Nauzyciel transposes the action to 1960s America, the Kennedy era, when the power of images began to eclipse public discourse. Thirteen American actors perform in English alongside a live jazz trio that functions as a contemporary chorus. The staging fuses political thriller with Warholian pop aesthetic, dance interludes, and sign language. 

Nauzyciel’s long collaboration with this ensemble – many have worked with him for over two decades – gives the production a rare depth of complicity.

FR Arthur Nauzyciel revient au Luxembourg avec l’une des productions marquantes de sa carrière. Créée en 2008 et reprise pour inaugurer sa direction du Théâtre National de Bretagne en 2017, Julius Caesar s’est imposée à la fois comme une mise en scène historique et une interrogation sur la fragilité démocratique. La mise en scène, qui transpose l'action dans l'Amérique des années 1960 et mêle thriller politique et esthétique pop, résonne fortement avec l’époque contemporaine.