If We Were Villains

Two weeks before Julius Caesar’s opening, the cast get their publicity photos taken. The friends are all dressed in evening wear, with Richard and Meredith at the center of most shoots. Oliver notes their wardrobe emphasizes Richard and Meredith’s physical appeal. Though the couple strike close poses together, the chill between them is apparent. Alexander tells Oliver that Meredith and Richard aren’t sleeping in the same room anymore. Wren and James seem to have grown very close.

After a dress rehearsal, Oliver notices James seems tired and sick. On Oliver’s prodding, James reveals that Richard has been injuring him while rehearsing the assassination scene. James asks Oliver to keep this to himself because he doesn’t want Richard to get the satisfaction of knowing he hurt James. Oliver agrees reluctantly.

Oliver keeps an eye on Richard during the next rehearsal. During a scene when Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia, entreats him not to go to the senate, Richard grabs Meredith’s wrist too hard and shoves her to the floor. Meredith confronts him and Richard says he got carried away with the emotion of the scene. Gwendolyn asks everyone to take a break and warns Richard she’ll give his part to Oliver if he continues to be violent. The friends also confront Richard. Richard warns Oliver not to “start learning [his] speeches yet” (126).

After the dress rehearsal, Meredith visits Oliver in the dressing room. She tells him she needs a “distraction” and reaches out to him (128). Oliver is moved by Meredith’s vulnerability and beauty but stops short of kissing her. He is afraid Richard will hurt him if he kisses Meredith. He also dislikes Meredith thinking of him as a distraction, so he brushes her off.

James and Oliver go for a run the next morning. James asks Oliver about what happened between him and Meredith. Oliver tells him Meredith approached him but he refused because he isn’t “interested in becoming Richard’s next punching bag” (132). James asks Oliver if this is the only reason he kept away from Meredith. Oliver doesn’t have an answer. James tells Oliver that Meredith flirted with him in their first year, but he said no and she began dating Richard. Oliver is shocked. He and James promise to watch each other’s backs. Meanwhile, the publicity posters for Julius Caesar are up around the campus, the first featuring Richard’s close-up with the quote “ALWAYS I AM CAESAR” (Julius Caesar, Act I Scene 2) written underneath.

Julius Caesar opens to packed theatres. Dellecher’s production quality is famous and talent scouts, theatre enthusiasts, and locals attend the show. The first two acts go off swiftly, ending in Caesar’s assassination scene. However, during the scene Richard hits Oliver’s ear hard. Alexander is in disbelief at Richard’s violent streak. Oliver tells him about Richard hitting James during rehearsals. Alexander suggests the men fight Richard if he continues behaving this way.

Opening night is a success “apart from Richard’s unnecessary roughness” (140). The fourth-years bask in the compliments of their peers. Oliver is happy, but worried about how to confront Richard. He also hopes the next performance and the cast party go well. On the night of the cast party, Oliver, James, and Alexander decide to fight Richard during the performance of the assassination scene. As they bring down “Caesar”, they land Richard real blows. Richard delivers his dying speech and falls on the stage. Though Richard doesn’t break character and lash out, Oliver knows he is enraged.

Content Warning: Act II, Scene 8 summary contains references to derogatory language.

As the actors head back after the final performance, they note the cast party has already begun. Alexander vows to get all the friends drunk. Oliver wanders into a garden where he spots Meredith chatting with a boy. He meets Wren and tells her about Richard’s ongoing roughness on stage. Wren says Richard scares her with his recklessness. Meanwhile, Meredith leaves the garden. James and Oliver come together and chat. A sudden crash and the sound of screaming draws them to the castle. Richard has hit the boy who was flirting with Meredith. Fed up with his behavior, Meredith shouts at Richard and shoves at him. He responds by grabbing her and calling her a “slut”. Oliver snaps and lunges at Richard with the others. Oliver manages to get Meredith away from Richard. She flees; Oliver goes after her, and Meredith kisses him in the stairwell. They are spotted by a first-year boy. Meredith and Oliver lock themselves in her room and make love. Richard, alerted by the first-year, comes up and begins banging at the door, swearing to kill them both. Oliver and Meredith ignore him.

Oliver goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night, where he runs into James. James has been sick and is cleaning up in the shower. Oliver tells James he is heading back to Meredith’s room since he wants to be there for her. James thinks Oliver’s involvement with Meredith is a bad idea; he briefly assumes that Oliver intended it as a one-time thing, and Oliver gets defensive, pointing out that Meredith is a close friend. No one knows Richard’s whereabouts. He has disappeared into the woods with a bottle of scotch. James and Oliver share an intimate moment, both lingering awkwardly in the bathroom, and Oliver finds himself suddenly very aware of James’s proximity. He eventually returns to Meredith’s room.

Oliver is woken up next morning by Filipa banging on Meredith’s door. Filipa tells them both to get dressed and come downstairs: Something terrible has happened. As they head to the dock, Oliver sees his friends gathered around something. He can see Richard floating in the water on his back, his neck twisted unnaturally and face crushed and bloody. The group watches him in shock. Richard groans and everyone realizes he might still be alive.