?“Theatre of the 21st Century should be looking forward, not looking back.” Discuss the above statement in relation to the play you have seen in performance and with reference to its original performance circumstances. In discussing the statement “Theatre of the 21st Century should be looking forward, not looking back”, it is necessary to consider the statement from both a modern and historical view to come to a conclusion. In this essay I will weigh up set, lighting, acting and props and consider how these elements relate to the production of Julius Caesar that I saw in the Donmar warehouse and how it compares to the original production in the globe. Within this essay I will also refer to the production at the Blackfriars indoor playhouse that was running simultaneously alongside the globe. I will then be able to conclude whether theatre is really looking forward in the 21st century. The Set of the production I saw of Julius Caesar was looking forward in terms of theatre. The set depicted the metatheatrical concept with a necessary naturalistic set. The play itself was set inside a woman’s prison, a location that itself is modern and did not exist during the original performance. An example of how this was evident is with the use of the entire room being a dull grade shade. The entrances and exits were cold grey metal doors that “clanged” when they were closed, this represented that the entire auditorium was a prison not just the stage area. The use of grey metal poles around the stage and cold grey flooring depicted the interior to a cell. The reason the director, Phyllida Lloyd, did this was to show her concept and to make a difficult text more accessible through modernising the production and making it relatable for the audience. This shows that the theatre is looking forward as such a setting in itself would not have been heard of in the original performance circumstances. However, you could also argue that even theatre prior to the 21st Century has been looking forward too. For example in the original production there was clearly a lack of interest within the production itself demonstrated in the use of a “lords room” that had a 360 degree curtain to separate itself from the play entirely. However they did attempt to use set to engage the audience as this time. This is shown through the use of a discovery space, which was a large area just behind the stage where pieces of set could have been brought on for end scenes, for example a large thrown would have been used in the final scene of the original production of Julius Caesar to depict the overall concept of power. This was a big deal in that time and theatre has constantly been looking forward in terms of set if you look at the Italian attempt to naturalise their theatre with the use of frescos, a famous designer of these being Sebastiano Sereno. However you could claim that the original production that I saw at the Donmar was guilty of “looking back” in terms of set. This would be shown by the use of “simple” scene changes to demonstrate when they were in the play-within-a-play. When Cassius and Brutus are in the tent discussing their plans the rest of the cast throw down a white sheet to represent the idea that they are in a tent. However this piece of scenery is only simple and is not naturalistic. This demonstrates an abstract use of set by simply implying what is happening, as the prisoners would be incapable of providing completely convincing props and set. This simplistic design suggests no attempt to naturalise the scene and reflects the use of backdrops used in previous times, such as the frescos, yet is even more simplistic as it has on it no design. Similarly simplicity was used in the original but this was arguably due to the issue of sightlines within the Globe theatre. There wouldn’t be set to suggest the final fight involving Brutus, mark Antony and their armies, instead there would be suggestions through hand held props and language within the script that suggested they were fighting. This was due to the fact that theatre was not somewhere to go and enjoy but instead was simply to be seen with the groundlings even running market places in front of the stage. However within the Jacobian Indoor theatre that was running at the same time it is important to note that there would have been use of naturalistic set, with larger pieces of set used due to it’s wing space and greater sightlines. In conclusion, having discussed the statement from the modern and original productions with a focus on set I can now conclude the statement is only partially true. In the modern it is clear that there is a focus on 21st century techniques and setting it in a prison really does emphasise its modern