I, Cinna (The Poet) - (Oberon Plays for Young People) by Tim Crouch (Paperback)

About the Book

The latest installment in Tim Crouch's acclaimed family-friendly series of Shakespeare plays explored through the eyes of minor characters.

Book Synopsis

I, Cinna (The Poet) has one short scene in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar where he is mistaken for someone else and killed by the mob. Now, in a new play by Tim Crouch, this unlucky man is given a chance to tell his story. Written for ages 11+, I, Cinna (The Poet) is a fusion of theatre, multimedia and creative writing tasks.

Cinna asks his young audience to consider the relationship between words and actions, art and politics, self and society. During the performance he asks us to write alongside him: a small poem on a big theme.

Originally commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival which is produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company for London 2012 Festival.

Shortlisted for the Writers' Guild Award for Theatre Play for Young People 2013.

Review Quotes

"A schoolkid-friendly contemporary response to that pivotal Act 3 Scene 3 lynching - nifty" --Telegraph

"Michael Gove, our rote-obsessed Education Minister, should be frog-marched to see this brilliant amalgam of theatre and education in Tim Crouch's latest in a series of dramatisations of Shakespearean characters - Far more than a theatre-in-education exercise, audiences of any age would find this an engaging and thought-provoking deconstruction of a Shakespearean bit part enlightening." --Morning Star

"It's a very powerful piece indeed" --The Stage

"Shakespeare and Crouch are woven seamlessly together to create both an introduction to Julius Caesar and a thought provoking piece about the ease with which an ordinary person, a passerby can get caught up in things beyond his control." --What's On Stage

About the Author

Tim Crouch is an internationally renowned & studied theatre maker. Crouch's first play, My Arm, opened at the Traverse Theatre in 2003 & continues to tour internationally. An Oak Tree won an OBIE for its Off-Broadway run in 2007. England won a Fringe First, a Total Theatre Award and a Herald Archangel in 2007. The Author was commissioned by the Royal Court Theatre, won a Total Theatre award and shared the John Whiting Award in 2010. Crouch has also written a body of work for young audiences: four pieces inspired by Shakespeare's minor characters, published by Oberon as I, Shakespeare.