'Caesar and Claretta' dramatises the last few hours in the lives of Benito Mussolini (El Duce, played by Robert Hardy) and his mistress Claretta (played by Helen Mirren).
With a short running time and a sparkling script by Jack Russell, this play zips along giving voice to these characters from history, from their capture and move to a safe house, to their eventual removal and murder. The play uses newsreels to set the scene before we see Mussolini, face obscured and silent, ushered into the house where he will spend his last hours with Claretta.
A minor piece but beautifully acted especially by Mirren, at this point at the start of her television career.
With a short running time and a sparkling script by Jack Russell, this play zips along giving voice to these characters from history, from their capture and move to a safe house, to their eventual removal and murder. The play uses newsreels to set the scene before we see Mussolini, face obscured and silent, ushered into the house where he will spend his last hours with Claretta.
A minor piece but beautifully acted especially by Mirren, at this point at the start of her television career.
