Adam Goodbody stars in Petty Men at Arcola Theatre, a bold new play inspired by Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. This two-hander promises an electrifying twist on a classic.
Created by Goodbody, John Chisham and Júlia Levai, Petty Men explores ambition, friendship and power in a dressing room setting. Expect a thrilling, contemporary take on timeless themes.
Petty Men runs at Arcola Theatre from 19 November to 20 December. Book tickets now.
You’re starring in Petty Men at Arcola Theatre, what can you tell us about the show?
Petty Men is a radical reimagining of Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.
As the play opens, we are looking on at a dressing room where two understudies are preparing for their 100th night of a West End production of the play. They have never been on stage, and they are tired and bored.
Yet on this, the 100th night of the show, unusual things start to happen, which push the understudies to breaking point.
Petty Men is described as a radical reworking of Julius Caesar. What inspired this approach?
Several reasons! Firstly, it’s very difficult to fully create Shakespeare’s plays for studio venues, given the resource constraints. Reworking the play was a way to engage with the text without needing 15 actors.
The Arcola’s intimate studio setting also prompted us into a more intimate and experimental approach to the play. Our cast and creative team have worked on much bigger Shakespeare productions at the National and the RSC, but this presented an opportunity to explore a classical text differently.
The play takes place in a dressing room with two understudies, how does that setting shape the story?
The ‘pretentious’ answer is that the unique, liminal status of the understudy in the theatrical world does serve as an interesting parallel to the way Cassius and Brutus feel marginalised at the beginning of Julius Caesar.
Julia Levai, our amazing director, has worked a lot with understudies through her role as Staff Director at the National Theatre and was able to bring lived experience to this strange ‘shadow’ role and how we could explore it in Petty Men.
Moreover, the play is deeply metatheatrical, and we wanted to say something about that through this work. Cassius and Brutus appear to think of themselves as actors, and the play is full of references to the stage, the cyclicality of events and the ‘on stage’ quality of what is happening.
We also hope this setting further explores the peculiar dynamics of the relationship between the two central characters, as well as the almost pathetic nature of their trajectory: from plot to political assassination to defeat in battle.
All that said, for someone with no interest or experience with Shakespeare, the play is also just as easily about two friends who are doing a job they don’t like, day after day, with no end in sight. We hope that our blend of Shakespeare and modern-day English offers something for every type of theatregoer.
Buzz Studios was created to honour your aunt, Buzz Goodbody’s legacy. How does this production reflect that mission?
Buzz was an extraordinary figure in theatre. She died aged 28, the age I am now.
She believed that Shakespeare should be affordable, simple and that it should engage young people at all times. Our production and engagement with schools seeks to respond to all three of these key criteria within her manifesto.
She was also deeply radical and rebellious, so we hope there’s some spirit of ‘revolutionary challenge’ in there too.
Every performance will be captioned, which is fantastic for accessibility. Why was this important to you?
John, one of our actors and co-writers, is hard of hearing, so we wanted to bring his lived experience into this production.
Shakespeare is obviously a very ‘text-heavy’ or ‘wordy’ thing, and it was important to find ways through that for audiences. We wanted to make sure that everyone could access this play, no matter their access needs.
The caption screen is a vital part of Petty Men and does far more than show the spoken text. We are trying, therefore, to directly embed captioning within the production and the theatrical experience, rather than making it an afterthought.
We are also very excited to be working with D/deaf and hard-of-hearing students through workshops, hopefully allowing them to better understand Shakespeare and their GCSE work. On stage, and off, we are exploring techniques to develop and improve access.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see Petty Men?
Built by some of the most talented early-career creatives working in the U.K., Petty Men is one of the world’s most famous plays explored in a bold new way.
All tickets are under £30 and it’s just 80 minutes long!
