A very strong production and a very unusual one (I have only ever seen traditional ones and the Globe's Elizabethan-costumes variant). The setting upgrade certainly works and the more casual and natural approach brings the story closer to the viewer. The characters are believable people, and I didn't find the accents distracting - their delivery is beautiful and I had no problem understanding the text with no subtitles (I'm not a native English speaker, although I'm pretty fluent).
The lack of armour in the battle makes things much easier once everyone starts falling on their swords (or rather daggers).
There are some small touches I loved: the conspirators wear black togas for the assassination scene with no tunics - something that, to people who are as obsessed with the late Republic as I am, will evoke Cato the Younger who famously dressed like this. He died before the events of the play, but he was a lifelong opponent of Caesar (and Portia's father / Brutus' uncle).
Another clever thing is that they have Lucius (who is an adult in this cast) replace Strato. It provides a lot more emotions.
Overall it's a great production with a strong cast - definitely worth watching.
The lack of armour in the battle makes things much easier once everyone starts falling on their swords (or rather daggers).
There are some small touches I loved: the conspirators wear black togas for the assassination scene with no tunics - something that, to people who are as obsessed with the late Republic as I am, will evoke Cato the Younger who famously dressed like this. He died before the events of the play, but he was a lifelong opponent of Caesar (and Portia's father / Brutus' uncle).
Another clever thing is that they have Lucius (who is an adult in this cast) replace Strato. It provides a lot more emotions.
Overall it's a great production with a strong cast - definitely worth watching.