Anthony and Cleopatra Review




Antony and Cleopatra 
at the National Theatre, London, December 2018

It was an exhausting three and a half hours of viewing. I do not mean this in a derogatory way at all, but by the end of the final scene, after such emotional investment, the actors also looked exhausted. 5 acts, 42 scenes and 3,039 lines of Shakespearian verse is enough to exhaust anybody. I thought, goodness, they have got to do the entire play again this evening!

I walked away neither newly inspired or dissatisfied. I was merely humbled, as I digested the epic piece of theatre I had just witnessed. The language, the acting, the costumes, the emotions. The production was really rather fantastic. Every character was perfectly cast, acted well, wonderfully directed (credit to Simon Godwin), set in a modern style. It all just fitted together and worked. It was just missing that hint of ... magic. I am arguing with myself here, is that because of the play itself or was something missing from the production?


Well, I hate to say it, but it did start off badly. The verse was poorly spoken by most actors, I found myself repeating the verse in my head with the correct pauses and breath control. (I know, I am a harsh Shakespearian critic) It made the verse hard to understand and almost impenetrable, a real mental workout. After twenty minutes it made me want to throw Sir Peter Hall's book (Shakespeare's Advice to the Players) at them in utter fury. Three more hours of this would be impossible. Perhaps they were nervous? Relief came when the messenger entered the stage, played by Nick Sampson who spoke with such beauty. The whole cast started to relax and everything fell into place. By the time we hit the interval I could go on for more. The cast had found their feet and the play was unravelling with excitement and ease.

Ralph Fiennes is no stranger to a great epic on stage. I saw him play Oedipus in the same theatre in 2008. As Antony, he performed with true craftsmanship and added unique moments of character that made an interesting performance. Sophie Okonedo was a perfect Cleopatra, undertaking the over-dramatic empress brilliantly. I honestly couldn't think of anyone who could have played this role better. Cleopatra is possibly, in my opinion, one of Shakespeare's hardest female leads. Striking the balance of drama queen and real emotion is tough. On the day I saw the production, Okonedo was added to the New Years Honours List 2019 and well deserved too for her outstanding services to film and television.

The highlights for me? The Egyptian swimming pool denoting ultimate opulence, the well choreographed fight scene with the use of doorways as the stage revolved and excellent sound effects. Anyone who can pull of an epic Shakespearian fight scene, I take my hat off to them. (Often a pitfall of a great history or tragedy is a tame battle.) And of course the real snake on stage. The production fitted together seamlessly and really deserves four and a half stars out of five out of the reviews given.

If you get an opportunity to see it do, either on stage or as a live filmed production at the cinema. You won't regret it.

More information on the link below:
http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/69873-antony-cleopatra 

Comments

  1. Amanda28 January 2019 at 05:27

    Hi Jess

    I am a returning BAPP student as I took a year out.
    I went to see Antony and Cleopatra at The Royal Shakespeare Company in 1978. Yes, that doers read 1978 I am a mature student. Glenda Jackson (a socio/political feminist activist) played Cleopatra with Alan Howard Anthony. There was also a very young Juilet Stevenson in the play and she also went on to have a wonderful career.

    These may be actors you don't know but this was one of the performances that made me want to become an actress and I feel this may also be the case with the the Sophie/Ralph production for many young actors out there.

    I also saw this production and felt the beginning was too slow and not well annunciated at the start.

    I look forward to reading your blogs as I am a Drama Practitioner/Director/Drama Adjudicator and although I really appreciate the medium of dance (as many of the students are) I can relate more to acting and stage performance.

    ReplyDelete

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