A BUNCH of ordinary, non-privileged 13 to 17-year-olds have - entirely without help - produced Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at a prestigious theatre.

That means The Northern Echo is absolutely guaranteed to give the plucky kids a rave review, right?

Well, maybe. But the fact remains that if you go to The Arc tonight you'll see an entertaining, well produced, dramatic version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. It's not good for kids and it's not a good effort under the circumstances. It's just good.

A strong point is the direction and stagecraft. There's the eerie moment when the light fades out around Caesar's erect corpse, the subtle rise in music volume as violence reaches a crescendo, the drama when the cast come alongside the audience and we all become part of an angry mob. The famous scenes including the 'et tu Brute' attack on Caesar or the ghosts appearing to Brutus on the eve of battle are well done and not overblown.

The acting is good all round but special mention should be made of Robert Icke and Andrew Berriman who play Brutus and Cassius, as well as directing the play.

If there are any schoolboys crawling, reluctantly, to school and whinging that Shakespeare is boring, come and see your contemporaries.

Fewer than 50 tickets costing £5 (£4 concessions) are still available for the last performance tonight but are expected to be sold. Call (01642) 525199 to book.

Chris Webber. Published: 30/10/2003