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t h e a t r e

Antony and Cleopatra

 

Antony and Cleopatra, by William Shakespeare
23.vi.99 Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Alan Bates and Frances de la Tour, directed by Steven Pimlott
designed by Yolanda Sonnabend; music by Jason Carr
Newcastle: 9.xi.99 to 13.xi.99, Theatre Royal
London: Previews 13 January; 19.i.00 to 6.iv.00, Barbican Theatre
Plymouth: 25.iv.00 to 29.iv.00, Theatre Royal

Brief plot:

Mark Antony, a great soldier, and, together with
Octavius Caesar and Lepidus, one of the three rulers of Rome,
is in Egypt, in love with its glamorous Queen, Cleopatra.
The death of his wife Fulvia and other events
force him to return to Rome, where he promises to attend to his duties.
He marries Caesar's sister Octavia to cement his friendship with Caesar,
but cannot resist returning to Cleopatra.
This leads to war.

Antony's forces are defeated by Rome,
and he blames Cleopatra for his failure.
Terrified, she sends him news that she is dead, and hides.
Hearing the news, Antony stabs himself,
and is taken, dying, to Cleopatra.
After his death, refusing to give herself up to Rome,
Cleopatra kills herself with a bite
from a poisonous snake.

from "The World of Shakespeare," Usborne Publishing, ISBN 0-7460-24254-1

A word about the play:

The plot of "Antony and Cleopatra" is probably familiar to most of you. Even if you have not seen the play itself, you have images of the title characters embedded in your subconscious: Liz and Dick, most likely -- Hollywood has not been kind to this great tragedy!
To remove the residue of earlier "A&Cs" from your mind, I suggest, first, that you simply read the play, letting the familiar plot carry you into the beautiful language, the inexorable tragedy that never loses its impact. Next, you might want to think about the challenges of staging -- even watching -- this large play and its many scenes. I recommend two books, both of which are so well-written that they are virtually page-turners:
The first, "Antony and Cleopatra," by Harley Granville Barker, one of his Prefaces to Shakespeare, comes recommended by the fraternity of British Shakespeareans, including Richard Eyre, Peter Hall, Peter Brook, Adrian Noble (the current director of the Royal Shakespeare Company). As Hall says, "He is the only critic who consistently treats Shakespeare as a playmaker of living drama, rather than as written texts." It's a small but powerful book. Here's how it begins:

"Here is the most spacious of the plays. It may lack the spiritual intimacy of "Hamlet," the mysterious power of "Macbeth," the nobilities of "Othello," may reach neither to the heights nor depths of "King Lear;" but it has a magnificence and a magic all its own, and Shakespeare's eyes swept no wider horizon."

The second book, "Peter Hall Directs Antony and Cleoopatra" (Limelight Editions, ISBN 0-87910-147-4), is a fascinating account, written by Tirzah Lowen, of the 1987 Royal National Theatre production of the play directed by Peter Hall, with Anthony Hopkins as Antony and Judi Dench as Cleopatra. Lowen was with the company as an observer from the earliest rehearsals. She conveys the enormity of the process, and the huge company of designers, musicians, armorers, technicians, in addition to the actors, who have to come together to stage this play and its over 40 scenes:

"Tirzah Lowen's loving but careful account of Peter Hall's last big production for the National Theatre comes as a pleasant surprise. Although its main intent is to describe Hall and his actors at work in the rehearsal room, which it does with considerable sensitivity, it succeeds along the way in communicating something of the enormous team effort... The book does not end with the glitz of the opening night, but goes back again and again to see how this major NT achievement matured even further during its run." -- Sightline review

Whether or not you're able to visit England this year, spending a few hours with "Antony and Cleopatra" and these books will give you a taste of the excitement and intensity that surrounds the staging of a major production. To me, it is also helps to explain why to some actors, including Alan Bates, there is no more satisfying form of the craft than theatre. --KR, 30.i.99