Everything you always wanted to know about The Flying Doctors. Dedicated to Lenore Smith and Christopher Stollery.
 

Mark Anthony, media man

Christopher Stollery as the pragmatic Mark Antony in Bell Shakespeare Company's Julius Caesar

Source: http://www.postnewspapers.com.au, by Sarah McNeill, 2002

There is a peculiar sense of comfort to be drawn from the timelessness of politics, muses Christopher Stollery, who plays Mark Antony in Bell Shakespeare Company's Julius Caesar. Four hundred years ago Shakespeare wrote the play about one of history's great political assassinations and in almost 2000 years little in the world of back-stabbing politics has changed. John Bell has always had a mandate to make Shakespeare relevant for modern audiences, but in the case of Julius Caesar no effort is required. In modern dress, but of no particular place or time, Bell's production is full of 20th century references and suggestions.

Shades of LA riots, Pinochet, Neo-Nazi thugs, demonstrators, rioters, terrorists, fascists, bureaucrats and manipulative smooth-talking politicians fill the stage, just as they fill our nightly news bulletins. Christopher's Mark Antony has been described as hedonistic, manipulative, oily, cynical and full of irony. He considers these adjectives as he chats on the phone from Hobart.
'Yes, I guess that's fair, but you know he is just a ruthless political pragmatist who knows how to use the media,' he said. 'Today he would be on chat shows and doing talk-back and whipping people into a frenzy of acceptance over a one-cent drop in petrol prices ...'
Cassius and Brutus, motivated by resentment and envy, plot to assassinate Caesar. It is Mark Anthony who, in his famous "Friends, Romans, Countrymen ... " speech, understands the power of the people and, using his skills in rhetoric, turns the mob against the two assassins. Racism, anger, fear, greed, envy and the power of politics were just as relevant in Republican Rome as in Nazi Germany, East Timor, the Balkans, South Africa, South America, Fiji or the Philippines.

Julius Caesar is Christopher's 10th production with Bell Shakespeare, having played title roles in Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Troilus and Cressida. Christopher had not read or seen a previous production of Julius Caesar so he felt comfortable in giving the role a fresh interpretation, unencumbered by other people's views.
'It did come as a shock to me to realise, when we opened, that the audience perception was that Mark Antony is a hero,' he laughed. Christopher believes being part of a regular company of performers is paying off for him. 'We all understand how John works and we know each other well enough to feel comfortable and confident in our work,' he said.

Away from the stage Christopher is extending his talents to directing for film and television.
'This is not really a medium for actors,' he said of film. 'You are at the mercy of the editors.'
As an actor he has put himself in the hands of editors in A Country Practice, Water Rats, Heartbreak High, The Flying Doctors, State Coroner and, more recently, the ABC mini-series, The Farm. Two years ago he turned his hand to directing and provided himself with what he jokingly refers to as a "meal ticket" which took him to Spain, Poland and New York. His short film Fine was selected for the 1999 St. Kilda Film Festival and was a finalist at the Manhattan Short Film Festival and the film Prick was a Tropfest finalist and was nominated for an AFI award. Christopher plans to leave Bell Shakespeare for a while after touring in Julius Caesar, to pursue his career as a film director.

Bell Shakespeare's production of Julius Caesar opens at His Majesty's Theatre on June 14 for a limited season to June 23.

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Christopher