MARK Smith is directing York Shakespeare Project’s summer show, Julius Caesar, hard on the heels of completing his production of Hard Times for Upstage Centre Youth Theatre last month.

“Rehearsals are well underway and in terms of the feel of the play, I’m aiming to make it pacy, exciting, modern, though we’re maintaining the original Roman setting and politics of the piece,” he says.

“I’m really drawing on the elements of the supernatural and the sense that there’s something beyond the control of mortals at play in the story.”

Julius Caesar will be staged at 41 Monkgate, the York home of Upstage Centre, from June 10 to 20, and Mark’s cast is “nearly complete”.

“Casting wise, we’ve a fantastic mix of York Shakespeare Project regulars and new faces,” he says.

“Marcus Brutus is to be played by Maurice Crichton, a newcomer to the stage who I understand hasn’t done any acting since his schooldays. He really blew us away in auditions and he’s worked brilliantly in rehearsals with what is a contradictory and difficult character to pin down.”

Other male roles go to Dermot Hill as Caius Cassius, Ged Murray as Caska, Robbie Swale as Mark Antony and Robin Sanger as Julius Caesar, while Hannah Davies plays Calphurnia and Jenny Carr, Portia.

“We’ve got a massive and wonderful supporting cast of all ages, from school leavers and university students – most of whom are acting in their first YSP production – up to experienced YSP actors,” says Mark.

Before the back-stabbing of Julius Caesar comes the York Shakespeare Project annual fundraiser, a 12-hour “Bardathon” that will begin at 6am on Saturday, April 25 (only a couple of days after his 445th birthday).

YSP members will be outside St Michael le Belfrey Church, Minster Yard, performing book-in-hand readings of plays, rehearsed scenes, reduced versions of various plays and assorted humorous bits and pieces.

“During the day there will be ‘trailers’ for Julius Caesar at about 10.15am and 2pm, with some of the actors from the play performing carefully selected snippets as a taster of what’s to come,” says Mark.

“There’ll be stuff going on until about 6.30pm, with plenty of entertainment for bemused tourists and general passers-by. It all sounds like a lot of fun, and I’m certainly going to try to make it there for more than just the Julius Caesar trailers. Is it too ambitious to aim for the full 12-hour stint?”

The Bardathon will begin with a Readathon from 6am to 9pm led by YSP’s chairman, Councillor Janet Looker, the former Lord Mayor of York.

“I’ll be doing a sponsored reading of Cymbeline: ten friends and me, and we’ll be going to the Guy Fawkes Inn for breakfast afterwards as a reward for our efforts,” says Janet.

Whereas Julius Caesar’s cast is “composed 98 per cent of men and the few women’s parts are small with no love interest”, Janet believes the Bardathon will be a perfect opportunity for cross-casting for women who may fancy their chance at playing Hamlet, Othello or whoever.

“How about Henry V? It would be fantastic to do that speech before the Battle of Agincourt, because women can be a bit short-changed in Shakespeare’s plays,” she says.

Upwards of 20 members of YSP are expected to be involved in the day, and passers-by will be encouraged to participate too. “We very much hope they will join in and will want to be more than just audience. We’ll have scripts with us, and it would be marvellous if people would just grab one, get involved, read a part, perform a monologue or whatever,” says Janet.