The Romans in Britain

Synopsis

Howard Brenton's sweeping, epic play dramatises the violent clashes of culture and the humour of survival in times of invasion. Julius Caesar's raid on Britain fails; centuries later the myth of King Arthur is born, while in 1980 a British army officer loses his mind in Ireland. One of the most controversial plays of the 80s.

Our Review:

9 February 2006

On the way in to Howard Brenton’s latest play, Paul, at the National Theatre, I was accosted by a sizeable posse of fundamentalist Christians who assured me that I would go to Hell for seeing the play. No such protests at Sheffield Crucible for Brenton’s The Romans in Britain, despite the scandal surrounding its 1980 production.

Of course the subjects of the original protests, the homosexual rape of a druid (treated unsensationally at Sheffield) and frequent outbreaks of male nudity, no longer shock any more than the regular use of obscene language.

What can shock is Brenton’s presentation of invaders (Romans, Saxons, the British in Ireland) who assume the right to be right, as current a theme now as it ever was. The first act consists almost entirely of imagined events following Julius Caesar’s invasion. Act 2 is more complex and, perhaps, less satisfactory, with a not wholly convincing tale of an undercover operation in 198...

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Latest User Review

88.110.87.237) - 20 February 2006:

Saw the play Saturday 18th Feb, It was superb. I feel that Sam West, the cast and team produced a magnificent production. The multiple roles played by the cast highlighted to me the wonderful talent on show. Guy Williams as the scribe and latterly as Major Chichester brought a human face to it all with all the guilt spilling into his personality, showing the despair invasion of another land and race can bring. My attention during the controversial rape scene was drawn not to the actual event but to the soldier who was totally uninterested in the actions of his comrades. His attitude and preoccupation with his own needs and the discovery of his ‘spots’, left me feeling that this was and still is, endemic today. Daniel Llewellyn-Williams performance will be remembered by me as the personification of what is still wrong with us and society in general. Well done to everyone especially young Daniel Llewellyn-Williams who I see from the programme was also the fight director for the production. Good luck to you all. ...

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