Review by anonymous
June 21, 2026 certified reviewerWhat I liked
See overview.
What I didn't like
See overview.
My overall impression
A fast-paced, jury-rigged fun time! The Fall of the Roman Republic falls squarely into a sketch comedy style whose grounding classic story provides endless fodder for humorous reinterpretation.
Supported by a large ensemble, each cast member gets their fifteen minutes of fame by the end with some particularly charismatic performances from Clodius, Pompey, and Titus, among others. Character trait decisions really bolster the performances and create amusing moments like Titus’ secret attraction to Caesar, Octavian’s childlike snobbiness, and Cleopatra’s Dominican persuasion.
While the show satires the similarity between Caesar and the rise of neo-fascism in the present day (which one must assume was the impetus for choosing the fall of Rome as the narrative base), the funniest bits actually come in a much more ludicrous form — Marc Antony’s constant smoking of a vape, a couple Star Wars references, a throwaway line about the “yellowness of Egypt”, an oversimplified French mime stereotype, and a devilishly silly run about forming competing gangs (i.e. GANG, GANG).
It begs the question, without stronger allegorical allusions, why choose such well-trodden territory as the basis for character and story? Why not just directly spoof the current administration (although even more trodden)? Or, to interrogate the opposite direction, move farther from satire and lean more into the silliness of pop culture references and slapstick comedy? Regardless of the answer, a great time nonetheless!
