Julius X, Folger Theatre

Julius X, a bold adaptation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar by Al Letson, takes its inspiration from the idea that Malcolm X and Caesar led lives with startlingly similar trajectories, and that their stories could combine into a new epic that blended Shakespeare's verse with the poetry and prose of Letson alongside the words of Malcolm X.

The cast of Folger Theatre's production of Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, written by Al Letson and directed by Nicole Brewer, on stage at the Folger Shakespeare Library, September 23-October 26, 2025. Photography by Erika Nizborski. 

In the realm of theatrical stagings of this idea, there are a myriad of ways to explore these parallels--it's easy to imagine a world where only Shakespeare's texts exist but a Black actor playing Caesar is given horn-rimmed glasses and design choices place us into the American 1960s, and at the other end of the spectrum, an entirely new play is created that gives lip service to Shakespeare and the life of Julius Caesar. Letson's adaptation tries to situated itself somewhere in the vast middle, moving back and forth across the dial from scene to scene rather than settling at one point for the duration, which can give the production an unsettled feel that can both add and detract from the whole.

As Julius X, the barely-disguised version of Malcolm X that takes center stage in this production, Brandon Carter gives an absolutely electric performance, commanding the stage with both  charisma and vulnerability, and the action of the play can't quite support itself once he's taken away at the end of the first half. Also doing good work is Greg Alverez Reid as Brutus and Jay Frisby as Cassius among the abbreviated group of assassins, and Nikkole Salter in particular is an arresting Calpurnia, given more voice here as Julius' wife than Caesar's was allotted. Also in an expanded role are a trio of ensemble members with Lilli Hokama, Shawn Sebastian Naar, and led by Gaelyn D. Smith, who appear throughout the play in several small roles but come together as recurring soothsayers that echo the witches in Macbeth. It's these moments with the chorus of soothsayers and when their voices and rhythms infuse other scenes into elevated near-music when the play most full feels like it inhabits a new and exciting place, taking inspiration from Shakespeare's verse but locked into its own heightened mode of expression and poetry.

If the strongest part of Letson's adaptation are where he moves most strongly into his own distinctive mode, it can be all the more disorienting to navigate the layers of transposed histories. Letson attempts to create a fictionalized world that exists outside of both ancient and modern history, centering a version of Harlem as this story's Rome, so that he can play in the boundaries of fact, fiction, and fictionalized history in a mode similar to Shakespeare.  This raises questions, however, that shape the experience of the audience's perception of the play. How closely does Julius Caesar parallel Malcolm X historically, and how closely does Malcolm X's life and death map to the trajectory of Shakespeare's play? The fine details are a little more present in audience's minds relating to a man and events of less than 100 years ago that many in the audience may have in living memory, versus the gap of even 1600 years that Shakespeare's audiences would have between Caesar and their own lives.  Dramaturgically within Shakespeare's play, Caesar is an interesting figure but Brutus is the clear protagonist, a hero doomed through his own choices. The hero of Letson's play is Carter's Julius X, and when the evening closes with video and audio of Malcolm X himself, it sways the balance firmly out of the fictional world that the play attempted to inhabit and into the real world. 

Nicole Brewer's production of Letson's play is vigorous and well-told, with arresting performances, striking visuals and a rich aural landscape. Letson's work as an adaptor of Shakespeare feels less strong that when he breaks the furthest from the constraints of Julius Caesar; perhaps there is another version waiting in future wings that lets Caesar be an inspiration point rather than the foundation that sometimes muddies the waters, but there are still strengths aplenty in the text as it stands now. It's also a welcome addition to this era of Folger Theatre, embracing both the classics and the Blackness of Washington DC.