The Egyptian Play

Finishing the trifecta of Fathom Events big screen broadcasts of Stratford productions this year was Antony and Cleopatra.  Having enjoyed the previous two broadcasts (see 3/8/15 and 4/12/15 posts), I was not about to miss this one.  Plus, it was a chance to see Antony and Cleopatra for the first time.

Having neither seen nor read the play before, a little bit of research was in order.  Helpful was the Folger Library edition of the play.  The notes and essays provided a quick introduction and gave me an idea of what to expect.  I noticed the extensive number of scenes in the play, the most in a Shakespearean work.  The research was enough to whet the appetite for the coming performance.

Another draw was the opportunity to see several actors whose previous performances had been very impressive.  Geraint Wyn Davies played Antony.  I had seen him in Season Two of Slings and Arrows (see 1/18/15 post).  Tom McCamus, who had starred in the 2014 Stratford production of King John, played Enobarbus.  Ben Carlson, who starred as Hamlet in the 2008 Stratford production (see 11/17/13 post), was Octavius Caesar.  All three were excellent in their roles in this production.  Equally noteworthy was Yanna McIntosh as Cleopatra.  A captivating performer, hopefully I'll have the opportunity to see her in future performances.

Overall, the production was solid.  The set was minimal, but it worked.  Considering the number of scenes, some of which are very short, having a lot of props and scenery could prove difficult.  A lot is left to the imagination of the audience members.  One notable lack was the contraption to raise a mortally wounded Antony to Cleopatra in her monument.  He was carried by his attendants, apparently having already climbed up the monument.  It would have been interesting to see him hoisted to the top, but the lack of this was not a huge issue.  Plus, I had nothing against which to compare it; perhaps this is a typical staging for the scene.

I did notice that the play felt long.  It had a running time of nearly 3 hours, and it seemed to drag late in the second half.  I had not noticed that during King Lear or King John.  Perhaps it was a function of Antony dying in Act IV and not appearing at all in Act V.

According to the Playbill distributed at the theatre, 2014 was the first year of a ten-year project at Stratford to stage and to record the entire Shakespearean canon.  It has given me a ten-year bucket list.  Three down, a bunch more to go.  Happily, the next one that I see, Hamlet, will be in person.