CAN CASSIUS BE A WOMAN? Yes, Cassius can be played as a woman. Like the Vermont farmer, I’ve seen it done. My wife Mary Jane has now completed her performances as Cassius in JULIUS CAESAR. She was playing Cassius as a woman, not as a man (which would present different issues). The text provides some support for playing Cassius as a woman in love with Brutus: Cassius is defined by two major scenes—a seduction scene and the Quarrel Scene, which plays like a lover’s quarrel. At the end of the seduction scene, Cassius says, after Brutus leaves, “For who so firm that cannot be seduced.†In the Quarrel Scene, Cassius expresses jealousy of Caesar: “When thou didst hate him worst, thou loved him better than ever thou lovest Cassius.†After Cassius and Brutus have made up, Cassius says, “I cannot drink too much of Brutus’ love.â€
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Yes, there are lots of places in the text where Cassius works well as a woman. The military role made me uncomfortable, however. Also, parts where Cassius uses the word “womanish” derogatorily. The scene at Brutus’ home where the conspirators draw him into a commitment to the assassination, he argues against taking an actual oath, saying that maybe weak women might need such an artificially created bond but not true Romans, I always turned and gave Casca (also played by a woman) an ironic look. Phil pointed out to me that many of the conspirators were played by women because not enough competent men tried out for the play. However, this casting decision had an inadvertent side-effect. The conspiracy appeared to have been formed largely by women trying to bring a great man down.
I think that if Cassius is a woman, some of the other conspirators should be women. If we are in a world where half of the political actors are women, then a number of the conspirators should be women.
I will point out that this argument comes close to the “Sam and Frodo are gay” arguments. Shakespeare from male-to-male used the term “love” all the time, and I’ve always taken it to be an expression of friendship.