Anthony & Cleopatra @ The National Theatre
Ten Second Review: A stunning production of one of Shakespeare’s later plays. The staging is beautiful and the modernisation is, in this case, largely successful. A very enjoyable telling of Shakespeare’s Egyptian epic.
I love Anthony and Cleopatra. It is easily one my favourite Shakespeare plays and a really interesting mixture of themes while looking at one of history’s most famous love stories. It dips its toes in all of Shakespeare’s favourite ponds by blending a historic tragedy and a romantic comedy. It also features, arguably, his most developed and complex female characters in all of his plays.
Split between Egypt and Rome, the play tells the story of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony and their tragic ends. When Anthony is called back to Rome to help the triumvirate defeat a new naval threat, he is drawn into to an agreement to marry Caesar’s sister to bring the two leaders closer. Anthony leaves Rome and the other triumvirs begin to war without his consent or support and he in turn wages war on Caesar. As they war Anthony begins to lose and decides Cleopatra is to blame. To regain his love she sends word that she had killed herself and he in turn attempts to do the same. When he fails he is brought to her and he learns that she lied. Once he has died she is taken as Caesar’s prisoner and also commits suicide to ensure she is not paraded as Caesar’s triumph and can be rejoined with Anthony.
One of the key problems with a play like Anthony and Cleopatra is that its spanning of genres can often have the effect of dividing critical opinion. You might hugely enjoy the tone of one aspect and deplore another. The other complication of this, and arguably one of the best reasons to see multiple productions, is that the director (and the actors) can choose what themes and genres they want to emphasise and which traits should dominate each character.
The first thing to say about this production is to quell the fears of those who have seen too many bad modernisations of countless Shakespeare plays; this is a prime example of the benefit and successes of modernising a one of his plays. As the story is quite timeless, namely a man torn between love and duty, it does not suffer from feeling outdated or confusingly transposed into our current time. The sets are used wonderfully to illustrate two very different worlds; a more corporate and cold Rome contrasts the warm and hedonistic Egypt in a clear and beautiful manner. Specifically talking about the sets, Eqypt in particular was an amazing piece of design. The pool in the middle and the way the whole piece descended below the ground in an almost Atlantis-esque manner was beautiful.
The acting and characterisations of the characters often, as with many adaptations, become hugely based on personal preference. I feel that while Sophie Okonedo’s performance is amazing, full of passion and pain, she plays Cleopatra slightly more vacuous than I personally read her. I think it would be easy to see Cleopatra’s shallower moments and luxurious lifestyle as a reason to play her in this manner but I always imagined a cunning and clever queen who’s concern for image was political or ironic rather than her serious care. Equally, while Ralph Feinnes plays a strong and powerful Anthony, I would read him as more stupid and more clearly lead by Cleopatra, culminating in him not being strong enough to kill himself. It might be a hopeful reading but I always thought it was Shakespeare writing a play about a strong willed queen and her foolish lover. I might be wrong, both about their intended characterisations and my reading of Shakespeare’s words but that is simply how I saw and read them.
You might not enjoy the choices that were made for these characters but you cannot deny the power in the acting. It would also be difficult to deny the beauty in the costume and the set design. It might not be something that everyone should rush to see but if you are a fan of Shakespeare or of either of these actors, then I’m sure you will enjoy it greatly!
