Arts > Theatre
Antony and Cleopatra
24/04/15
*SPOILER WARNING* The following review contains plot details of the performance, do not read on if you have not seen the play. Instead, go to the Maddermarket Theatre… now! Go on, what are you waiting for?! I don’t care if your breakfast will get soggy, they sell nuts behind the bar and the play aint bad!
Ok, good. We’ve got rid of them. This review may contain plot spoilers but I don’t feel too bad. The play was written over 400 years ago and is based upon the lives of people who lived 2000 years ago; I think you’ve all had enough time to catch up. Much like repeats of early Simpsons episodes you should know what’s coming, it’s embedded in the cultural consciousness of the western world. Much like the part where Sextus Pompey repeatedly steps on the rake and hits himself in the face or where Sideshow Bob is tempted to kill the triumvirates and seize control of Rome. Wait, I may have made a slight error. Still, the point stands, these are the classic stories of western civilisation, told and retold over the centuries and which still hold a fascination for audiences. See the television series’ Rome and Spartacus and the film Gladiator for amazing modern examples. Before that, Bill Shakespeare threw his feathered hat into the ring and for my money it’s the best. The familiarity with the source material should by no means act as a deterrence but instead creates a point of access for an audience to revel in the language and delight in the performances without fear of becoming lost.
How do you turn a salad into a Caesar salad? Stab it twelve times. Oh, come on now – don’t laugh. A man’s just died! Show some respect, you monster. You’re sick you are. OK, this is where the play kicks off; Julius Caesar has just been murdered and the absence of the human pincushion leaves a power vacuum large enough to make James Dyson drool. No one man can fill Caesar’s sandals so three share power and carve up the Roman Empire; Lepidus, Octavian and Mark Antony. Antony’s eyes soon roam and thoughts of empire are distracted by Cleopatra and the wonders of Egypt. We first encounter the titular pair entwined across the floor of the stage. There is genuine love between the two but to the outside world Antony has been ‘transform’d into a strumpet’s fool.’ Back in Rome Octavian is growing increasingly dissatisfied with Antony’s absentee rule. The safety of the empire is threatened by the growing might of Sextus Pompey, leader of a vast Naval force and possessor of vast daddy issues. The lover’s state of bliss cannot last.
The cast is led ably by a couple of terrific performances. The star of last year’s excellent Anne Boleyn is back in the role of Cleopatra. Her infectious charm mesmerises Antony and the audience as she toys with her lover’s affections. The costume department have had fun with her outfits, the highlight of which a lavish golden cape which creates a tableau of wings at the end of the first act. Octavian too is wonderfully captured, his firm rule in a delicate hand contrasts perfectly with other more boisterous performances. He is intelligent and calculating to Anthony’s headstrong aggression.
The set is a magnificent affair and transports us to an Egyptian palace. Even when scenes take place in Rome the looming Egyptian symbols are an ever present reminder of the influence the monarch of the Nile exerts on the lives of these men.
The play comes to a climax when Octavian unveils a giant dish on the hills above Rome that he uses to block out the sun. Wait! I think I’ve got confused again. Still, the second act is filled with blood and tragedy and drags you along in its wake. Rather wonderfully the show opened on the Bard’s birthday and while there was no cake we were treated to a great evening.