Caesar and Cleopatra (play)

Caesar and Cleopatra (Shavian: ·𐑕𐑰𐑟𐑩𐑮 𐑨𐑯𐑛 ·𐑒𐑤𐑰𐑩𐑫𐑐𐑨𐑑𐑮𐑩) is a play written in 1898 by George Bernard Shaw that depicts a fictionalised account of the relationship between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. It was first published with Captain Brassbound's Conversion and The Devil's Disciple in Shaw's 1901 collection Three Plays for Puritans. Shaw based his plot on Theodor Mommsen's The History of Rome, which presents an admiring depiction of Caesar as a strong leader and great man, contrasting his piece with Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, which was based on histories by Plutarch and Holinshed. Shaw focused on the background of Roman interference in the affairs of Alexandria, which he saw as akin to the British imperialism of his day. He also portrayed Cleopatra as sixteen years old to downplay the sexual relationship between the title characters and focus on the political story.Holroyd (1997), pp. 15–17

The play was first performed in a single staged reading at Newcastle upon Tyne in March 1899, to secure the copyright, starring Mrs Patrick Campbell and Nutcombe Gould, though Shaw said that he had written the role of Caesar with Johnston Forbes-Robertson in mind. Campbell resisted Shaw's concept of her character and portrayed it more maturely. It was not staged again until March 1906, when it was played unsuccessfully in Berlin in a German translation, with cuts. Shaw's text was fully given a full staging in New York later in 1906 and in London in 1907, both starring Gertrude Elliott and Forbes-Robertson.

Numerous productions followed over the decades, and the play has been adapted for cinema, radio, television and the musical stage. The part of Caesar has been played by such actors as Alan Badel, John Gielgud, Alec Guinness, Cedric Hardwicke, Rex Harrison, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer, Claude Rains and Godfrey Tearle. Cleopatras have included Peggy Ashcroft, Claire Bloom, Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, Vivien Leigh, Lilli Palmer, Vanessa Redgrave and Dorothy Tutin.

Background and first productions Shaw objected to the general adulation of Shakespeare, which he dubbed "Bardolatry", and set his own Caesar and Cleopatra against Antony and Cleopatra, claiming that his characters were "real" as opposed to Shakespeare's, who were "love-obsessed".Patterson, Michael. "Caesar and Cleopatra", The Oxford Dictionary of Plays, Oxford University Press, 2015 In an appraisal of Julius Caesar for The Saturday Review Shaw expressed his "revulsion of indignant contempt at this travestying of a great man as a silly braggart".Holroyd (1997), p. 15

Shaw began writing the play in April 1898 and finished it by the end of the year.Larson, p. 75 He based his plot on Theodor Mommsen's The History of Rome. He said, "I took the chronicle without alteration from Mommsen ... I found that Mommsen had conceived Caesar as I wished to present him". In Mommsen’s admiring depiction of Caesar as "the entire and perfect man" Shaw found the model for his hero and said that he had stuck nearly as closely to Mommsen as Shakespeare had to Plutarch or Holinshed. He misconstrued Mommsen's account of Cleopatra's age when she met Caesar: Shaw made her sixteen – five years younger than the historical Cleopatra. This suited Shaw, who was anxious to ensure that there should be no hint of a sexual liaison between the title characters.Holroyd (1997), p. 17

The part of Cleopatra was written with the actress Mrs Patrick Campbell ("Stella") in mind. She and her company gave the first performance of the play while on tour, in Newcastle – a one-off performance on 15 March to secure the British copyright of the play. She did not care for the piece, and particularly for Shaw's conception of Cleopatra: her biographer Margot Peters writes that she turned "Shaw's mere kitten of a Cleopatra into an experienced pantheress".Peters, p. 174 According to Peters, "She did not appreciate Shaw’s anti-romantic drama with its wise and urbane Caesar spurning the petty wiles of a very young Cleopatra and gladly turning her over to Antony". Campbell realised that the central role was Caesar, and having recently played Ophelia to Johnston Forbes-Robertson's Hamlet she did not intend to play second fiddle again. When the play was published as one of Shaw's Three Plays for Puritans he inscribed a copy for her: "To silly Stella who threw Caesar and Cleopatra into the waste paper basket, from G. Bernard Shaw".Dent, p. 12

Forbes-Robertson's performance as Hamlet in 1897 had impressed Shaw. He later said, "I wrote Caesar and Cleopatra for Forbes-Robertson, because he is the classic actor of the day, and had a right to require such a service from me. Without him Caesar and Cleopatra would not have been written".Larson, p. 74

New York and London premieres After its one-off copyright performance, the play was not staged until 1906, when Max Reinhardt presented it in a German translation in Berlin on 31 March 1906. The production was a failure, which Shaw attributed to the heavy cuts Reinhardt made in the text, rendering the action and the characters incomprehensible to audiences.Larson, p. 76

The first full staging of Shaw's text was on 30 October 1906 in the New Amsterdam Theatre, New York."'Caesar and Cleopatra' an Artistic Triumph", The New York Times, 31 October 1906, p. 9 It ran there during the rest of the year and the production was then moved to London, after a provincial try-out, opening at the Savoy Theatre on 25 November 1907, running until 21 December.

Original casts

Newcastle"Caesar and Cleopatra", The Stage, 23 March 1899, p. 18New York"Caesar and Cleopatra", Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 28 July 2025LondonWearing, p. 610 Julius Caesar Nutcombe Gould Johnston Forbes-Robertson Johnston Forbes-Robertson Cleopatra Mrs Patrick Campbell Gertrude Elliott Gertrude Elliott Rufio Courtney Thorpe Percy Rhodes Percy Rhodes Britannus Bromley Davenport Ian Robertson Ian Robertson Lucius Septimus Harley Granville Barker Walter Ringham Walter Ringham Apollodorus Berte Thomas A. Hylton Allen Lewis Willoughby Ptolemy XIV Robert Farquherson Sidney Carlisle Philip Tonge Pothinus Albert Gran Charles Langley Charles Langley Theodotus Harry Glover Sam T. Pearce Sam T. Pearce Achillas — Burchili Halliwell Hobbes John M. Troughton Belzanor Frank Cave Charles Vaughn A. W. Tyrer Persian E. Bertram Charles Bibby S. A. Cookson Bel Affris Harry Green Vernon Steele C. B. Vaughan Professor of Music Percy Reed Frank Ridley Frank Ridley Major Domo W. Rankin J. Herbert Beaumont A. WheatmanNubian Sentinel Con O'Brien Frank Bickley Frank Bickley Ftatateeta Francis Ivor Adeline Bourne Elizabeth Watson Charmian Dorothy Hammond Dorothy Paget Dorothy Paget Iras Edith Yeoland Esme Hubbard Dora Harker

Plot

Act I The teenage Cleopatra sleeps between the paws of a sphinx. Caesar, wandering in the desert night, comes upon the sphinx and speaks to it. Cleopatra wakes and, unseen, replies. At first Caesar imagines the sphinx is speaking. She, not recognising Caesar, thinks him a nice old man and tells him of her childish fear of Caesar and the Romans. Caesar urges bravery when she must face the conquerors, and then escorts her to her palace. Cleopatra reluctantly agrees to maintain a queenly presence, but fears that Caesar will nonetheless eat her. When the Roman guards arrive and hail Caesar, Cleopatra realises he has been with her all along. She sobs in relief, and falls into his arms.

Act II In a hall in the royal palace in Alexandria, Caesar meets Cleopatra's younger brother, King Ptolemy and his retinue, including the king's Roman guardian, Pothinus. Caesar greets all with courtesy but demands a tribute whose amount disconcerts the Egyptians. He says he will settle the dispute between the claimants for the Egyptian throne by letting Cleopatra and Ptolemy reign jointly.

The Egyptians threaten military action against Caesar, who orders Rufio, his military aide, to take over the palace and other strategic spots including the Pharos lighthouse. Britannus, Caesar's secretary, proclaims Ptolemy and his courtiers prisoners of war, but Caesar permits the captives to depart. Only Cleopatra (with her retinue), fearing Ptolemy's associates, and Pothinus (for reasons of his own), choose to remain with Caesar. A siege is imminent; Caesar dons his armour and prepares for battle.

Act III This act, which Shaw, conscious of the great length of the play, suggested could be omitted from productions, depicts the old legend of Cleopatra's smuggling herself into Caesar's presence in the Pharos lighthouse by hiding in a rolled-up carpet. The lighthouse comes under attack and Caesar and his entourage swim to a Roman ship in the eastern harbour, with Cleopatra clinging on to Caesar.

Act IV Six months elapse with Romans and Cleopatra besieged in the palace in Alexandria. Cleopatra and Pothinus, who is a prisoner of war, discuss what will happen when Caesar eventually leaves and they disagree over whether Cleopatra or Ptolemy should rule. They part; Cleopatra to be hostess at a feast prepared for Caesar and his lieutenants, and Pothinus to tell Caesar that Cleopatra is a traitress who is only using Caesar to help her gain the Egyptian throne. Caesar considers that a natural motive and is not offended. But Cleopatra is enraged at Pothinus's allegation and secretly orders her nurse, Ftatateeta, to kill him, which she does, to the fury of the Egyptian populace, who begin storming the palace. Caesar draws up a battle plan and leaves to speak to his troops. Meanwhile, Rufio realises Ftatateeta was Pothinus's killer, and he kills her in turn. Cleopatra discovers the bloodied body concealed behind a curtain.

Act V

Amid great pomp and ceremony, Caesar prepares to leave for Rome. His forces have swept Ptolemy's armies into the Nile, and Ptolemy himself was drowned when his barge sank. Caesar appoints Rufio governor of the province. As the gangplank is being extended from the quay to Caesar's ship, Cleopatra, dressed in mourning for her nurse, arrives. She accuses Rufio of murdering Ftatateeta. Rufio admits the killing, but says it was not for the sake of punishment, revenge or justice: he killed her without malice because she was a potential menace. Caesar approves of the execution because it was not influenced by spurious moralism. Cleopatra remains unforgiving until Caesar renews his earlier promise to send the young and dashing Mark Antony to Egypt. That renders her ecstatic as Caesar's ship starts moving out to sea.

Critical reception After the Broadway premiere The New York Times called the play "something to be thankful for" and praised the opening desert scene as "pure unadulterated fun, real comedy springing from a really comic idea"."Tragedy, Laughter and Romance in a Week's Theatrical Offering", The New York Times, 4 November 1906, p. 2

H. L. Mencken wrote that Shaw makes Cleopatra a much more human character than Caesar. In Mencken's view Caesar shows too much "icy ... Shaw, in attempting to bring the great conqueror down to date, has rather expatriated him. He is scarcely a Roman".Mencken, pp. 42–43 Mencken continued:

The Times, reviewing the West End premiere, remarked, "The essence of his 'history in four acts', as it is ironically styled in the playbill, is the uttering of modern thoughts, modern slang, and topical allusions of our own day by more or less historical persons of a remote age". The reviewer commented that in this Shaw was following in the footsteps of Offenbach's librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy – "the old, old burlesque producing its old laughs in its old way". The reviewer found some of the dialogue "not a little tedious" and Shaw's Caesar sometimes "very close to being a bore"."Savoy Theatre", The Times, 26 November 1907, p. 5