Julius Caesar marks a crossroads in Shakespeare's career. Written in 1599 it was probably the first play to open at the newly constructed Globe theatre. It stands at a pivotal point between Henry V, written earlier in that year and Hamlet which was to follow immediately after. It's Shakespeare's 21st play and everything in it points forward to his six further mature tragedies.

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The play, on the face of it, is centred on that fatal moment in Rome on the morning of 15 March 44BC when Caesar was brutally assassinated by Brutus, Cassius and their fellow conspirators. However, the play itself contains many hidden currents and meanings beyond the outer historical events which Shakespeare absorbed from Plutarch.