In the unglamorous underbelly of London's theatre scene, a new production at the Arcola Theatre explores the simmering tensions between two overlooked performers. Petty Men, running until 20 December, turns the spotlight on the often-invisible world of understudies in a major West End production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
The Understudies' Lair
This is no star's dressing room. Instead of telegrams and champagne, the space features a dying pot plant and a leaky ceiling caught by a bucket. Here, two actors known only as Understudy Brutus and Understudy Cassius wait night after night for their chance to perform, a call that never seems to come through the show's Tannoy system.
Played by Adam Goodbody and John Chisham respectively, the characters mark the production's 100th performance with party hats and microwave popcorn, conducting their own private run-through of the play they may never officially perform.
From Comradeship to Competition
The actors, who devised the play with director Júlia Levai, brilliantly capture how camaraderie curdles into rivalry. Goodbody's Understudy Cassius arrives over-prepared and line-perfect, while Chisham's Understudy Brutus slouches through rehearsals with whisky-spiked tea.
As they zip through Shakespeare's script with varying commitment—sometimes paraphrasing, sometimes offering chatty commentary—they quietly wonder if their big break might require someone to literally break a leg. Their relationship mirrors the central dynamic in Julius Caesar, where the bond between Brutus and Cassius reaches its peak at the assassination before beginning to unravel.
The production, designed by Tomás Palmer, sees the drab backstage room periodically crack open to reveal phantasms and hideous dreams, with captioning occasionally running wild to enhance the surreal atmosphere.
Political Ambition in Personal Terms
While bold in its formal experimentation, Petty Men presents a somewhat narrow reading of Shakespeare's play, focusing more on personal ambition than political conviction. In an era questioning authority figures (our No Kings era), the production reminds us that while murder to save the state carries immense weight in Shakespeare's Rome, the dramas unfolding within a theatre company ultimately can't compare to the fate of an actual civilization.
Petty Men represents the debut production for Buzz Studios, founded by actor Adam Goodbody in memory of his aunt Buzz, a pioneering director of "studio Shakespeare" who died fifty years ago.
The play continues at Arcola Theatre, London, until 20 December, offering audiences a compelling glimpse behind the curtains at the dreams and frustrations of those who stand in the shadows waiting for their moment in the spotlight.
