These professors wrote a Shakespeare parody about Trump
‘You guys are just as bad as ISIS!’
Looking for a laugh? For one night only, the Department of Theatre and Dance will present a parody of Shakespeare's classic "Julius Caesar" with a modern day twist. Called "Trumpus Caesar," the play will poke fun at the Trump Administration.
The playwrights are two UCSB theater professors Irwin Appel and Carlos Morton. Inspired by the ridiculousness that goes down in the White House, the professors claim their version follows the news very closely, and serves as a modern day interpretation.
“Since the election, I have been watching the melodrama going on at the White House and decided this was material ripe for satire — sort of ‘Saturday Night Live’ meets Julius Caesar,” Morton told The Current in an interview.
Free to all, "Trumpus Caesar" will be shown tonight, August 24th, at 6 pm.
The play draws stark similarity to a showing of "Julius Caesar" in Central Park this past June. After depicting the murder of Caesar likened to Donald Trump, two professors walked on stage to condemn the production for encouraging violence against the president. They were immediately removed from the scene by security, while the audience booed at them.
The decision to costume the character similarly to Donald Trump, is part of a tradition in the productions of the play that explore politics within its text. Last year for example, the title character in Julius Caesar was styled as Barack Obama.
Despite this, the depiction of President Trump sparked a number of protests from conservatives. Delta Airlines and Bank of America, two corporate sponsors of the production, shortly after withdrew their support.
With only one night to perform the show, "Trumpus Julius" might escape all controversy.