Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar feels urgently contemporary in Rosa Joshi’s new production at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival—one of America’s largest and longest-running theater festivals, now in its 90th season. Staged in partnership with Seattle’s upstart crow collective, the production explores the threat of autocracy, drawing on global histories of dictatorship. Performed entirely by women and nonbinary actors, Joshi’s Julius Caesar offers new perspectives on a historically male-dominated political landscape. The result is a fresh reading of Shakespeare’s classic tale of power, loyalty, and betrayal. In this episode, Joshi reflects on the production, the politics of performance, and why Shakespeare’s plays continue to illuminate moments of crisis. >> Discover more about Julius Caesar at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published August 25, 2025. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the execut