Presented by Strawmoddie Theatre Company

Review by Eloise Robertson

The Hepburn Suite at The Royal Scots Club

I, Claudius is absolutely riveting; four and a half hours pass with total ease as the audience are led through a witty rollercoaster of Roman succession drama. It is a showcase of how delusions of grandeur are passed down from one manipulative hand to the next. As is characteristic, Strawmoddie’s ensemble cast hit every comic beat and tender note with precision. The result is a wholly engaging evening of TV brought to life, complete with all the twists, laughs, and cries one could hope for.

The strength of performance in store was made instantly apparent by Timothy Bond, portraying Claudius. His performance was absolutely impressive, with an exceptionally well performed stammer and a touching reverence to all those around him. He walked the fine line of humour and tenderness while remain wholly real.

Nonetheless, it was undoubtedly Lucy Hagan-Walker’s Livia who dominated the audience’s attention in Part 1. She was absolutely standout; she brought the hilarious wit of her character to life through precise timing and captivating stage presence. The dynamic created between her Livia, and Ben Blow’s Augustus, was deeply interesting, too. Blow brought Augustus to into clear reality via marvellous facial expressions, moving with the fullest sense of his boisterous yet pitiful character.

As complement to these leads, we were delivered a stellar ensemble. Dario Dalla Costa was hilarious across his many varied characters and brilliant at keeping them all distinct. Alan Sunter’s Tiberius and James Cruickshank’s Nero were also wonderful in their smaller parts, with Nero being instantly recognisable and Tiberius bring a great intensity.

Full credit for the speed with which Part 2 came and went is owed to Caitlin Carter’s irreverent portrayal of Caligula. Intermittently charming then dastardly, and humorous then truly creepy, Caligula dominated attention. All-the-while the object of his perversion, his sister Drusilla, was brought into freakish and pitiful light by Amelie Berry. Playing both sides of his delusion, Berry gave the role a real eeriness by flicking between playfulness and real intensity.

It is a credit to the adaptation and direction of the show that time was no object in that room; the audience were enraptured, desperate to see what happens next. Across such a long show, yet, some scenes will miss the spot. The competitive orgy sequence was too far embracing of its Bonnie Blue-ness, making its humour rather too modern and dissonant from the witticism of the rest of the performance. Equally, the decision to have Sarah Stanton’s prostitute character screaming and crying with discomfort as she runs from the sex-fest sucked all the funny out of the room.

Nevertheless, these were outweighed by frequent moments of ensemble magic: the galloping of Caligula’s head actualised by stomping feet, the stellar collaboration between costuming and performance to make multi-rolling flawless, the brilliant use of the multi-height stage to portray all kinds of mischiefs and time jumps.

As the show drew to its end, Bond’s Claudius entered his final, brilliantly and hilariously deadpan form as he gave up trying completely; the perfect arc for a character who had cared so much and yet sacrificed it all. I left exhilarated yet perfectly replete, what a brilliant night of entertainment Strawmoddie provide.

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