Heil Caesar, Part 3: Defeat

Summary

1973 BBC production ‘for schools and colleges’ of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, in three parts. It was given under the title of John Bowen’s adaptation Heil Caesar which ‘transforms the play into a modern political conspiracy thriller with modern dialogue and many strong allusions to political events in the early 1970s’ (source: BUFVC Shakespeare database).

Theatre play

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare [more information]

Play synopsis

Julius Caesar is a political thriller which tells the story of the conspiracy against Caesar on his return to Rome following the triumphant war against Pompey, his assassination by Caius Cassius, Marcus Brutus and others, and the defeat of his conspirators. Mark Antony speaks next and turns the mob against the conspirators, who are forced to flee from Rome. Mark Antony and Caesar’s nephew Octavius take command of Rome and lead an army against the conspirators: Brutus and Cassius are defeated at Philippi where they kill themselves rather than be captured.

Production history

A performance is recorded in September 1599; the play was published in the First Folio in 1623.

Date of transmission

Monday 26 November 1973

Time

2.20-2.50pm

Series

Schools

Channel

BBC1

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Ronald Smedley

Playwright

William Shakespeare

Adapted for Television by

John Bowen

Cast

David Allister
Anthony Bate
Frank Middlemass
John Stride
Angela Thorne

Additional details

Later transmissions

The three parts were repeated together in an evening broadcast in 1974 and over separate weeks for schools again in February and October 1975.

Play tags

ancient Rome and colonies; tragedy

Programme context tags

schools television programming

Audiovisual sources

Title

Heil Caesar (BBC, 1973)

Archive

BBC Information and Archives [more information]

Address

White City
London
UK

Telephone

+44 (0)20 8008 2288

Website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/informationandarchives/

Access

BBC Information and Archives is not open to the public.

Print sources

Title

Heil Caesar (Website: database)

Reference

BUFVC Shakespeare database: http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/AV37104

Title

Heil Caesar (Book)

Author/creator

John Bowen (Author)

Reference

London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1974

Notes

Contains script, stage directions, introduction and many b&w images.

Title

Julius Caesar (BBC, 1938) ... and eight others (Blog article)

Author/creator

John Wyver (Author)

Reference

http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/julius-caesar-bbc-1938-and-eight-others, published 15 April 2012

Title

Radio Times, 22 November 1973 (Magazine)

Linking notes

p. 26

Associated programmes

Heil Caesar, Part 1: The Conspirators (BBC, 1973)
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
BBC1 (Schools)

Heil Caesar, Part 2: Murder of a President (BBC, 1973)
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
BBC1 (Schools)