Caesar and Cleopatra (play)
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Caesar and Cleopatra is a 1901 play by George Bernard Shaw. It was first published as part of his 1901 collection Three Plays for Puritans (together with Captain Brassbound's Conversion and The Devil's Disciple).
The play has two layers. The first one deals with the fact that Shaw wanted to prove that it wasn't love but politics that drew Cleopatra to Julius Caesar. In his play, Shaw stresses the relations between the Roman and Egyptian conquerors. In contrast to what probably happened historically, Cleopatra successfully arranges for the murder of the eunuch Pothinus after he humiliates her in front of Caesar.
[edit] Film and Television Versions of the play
Caesar and Cleopatra was the basis for a lavish 1945 motion picture starring Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh and produced by Gabriel Pascal. Shaw collaborated closely on this production. See Caesar and Cleopatra (1945 film).
There have also been two major television productions of the play. The first was in 1956, produced as part of the anthology series Producers' Showcase, on NBC. It starred Claire Bloom, Cedric Hardwicke, Farley Granger, Jack Hawkins and Judith Anderson. The second version, shown in 1976, was also telecast by NBC, and starred Geneviève Bujold, Alec Guinness, Clive Francis, Margaret Courtenay, and Iain Cuthbertson. It was telecast on the Hallmark Hall of Fame.
| The Plays of George Bernard Shaw |
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| Plays Unpleasant : The Philanderer, Mrs Warren's Profession, Widowers' Houses Plays Pleasant : Arms and the Man, Candida, The Man of Destiny, You Never Can Tell Three Plays for Puritans : Caesar and Cleopatra, Captain Brassbound's Conversion, The Devil's Disciple Back to Methuselah, a cycle of 5 plays : In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 (In the Garden of Eden), The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day, The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170, Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000, As Far as Thought Can Reach: A.D. 31,920 Other Plays : Androcles and the Lion, The Apple Cart, The Doctor's Dilemma, Fanny's First Play, Geneva, Heartbreak House, John Bull's Other Island, Major Barbara, Man and Superman, Misalliance, Pygmalion, Saint Joan |
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