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Coriolanus, National Theatre at Home
Gritty account of the downfall of an uncompromising war lord
AT WAR WITH HIMSELF: Tom Hiddlestone as Coriolanus [Johan Persson]

CORIOLANUS is possibly the most single-track and linear of all Shakespeare’s works.

With no subplots or deviation from its core theme, what seems like a predictable tale of  military might and political power is, by the conclusion, a simple account of the complexities and  inner workings of one man’s mind.

The fearless and commanding Caius Martius — Coriolanus — is a Roman military leader whose macho world of bloody battles and swaggering pride, synonymous almost with the modern world of car chases and shoot-outs, has earned his sobriquet in recognition of one such battle.

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