Antony and Cleopatra

Synopsis

Antony and Cleopatra tells of the overwhelming passions of two magnetic personalities who hold the destiny of a third of the world in their hands. Antony is a warrior and a lover, torn between his military duties and the erotic charms of the sensuous Egyptian court. At the heart is Cleopatra. "Serpent of old Nile", storym and unpredictable. Their love eventually triumphs with their noble deaths, but not before all else is lost.

Our Review:

Maxwell Cooter - 17 September 2012

It was a bit of a coup for Liverpool Everyman to attract Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall to play Cleopatra and it was a similar coup for Chichester to bring the production to the festival – albeit with a new Antony, Michael Pennington replacing Jeffery Kissoon.

In her programme notes, Janet Suzman says that her production wants to examine Cleopatra as a political animal rather than the seductress of legend. The vision, however, is a long way from the reality. Blonde-haired and husky-voiced, Cattrall is wonderfully coquettish but her performance fails to capture the broader challenges of the role. Nor does she quite handle the mercurial moods of the play – her attack on the messenger bringing news of Antony's marriage is half-hearted, no hints of the capricious ruler.

Mind you for all her sexual wiles, she’d have a job rousing Pennington’s Antony who seems strangely resistant to Cleopatra's charms. With his leonine mop of white hair, he does look indeed...

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Latest User Review

Gerry - 24 September 2012:

Always a difficult play because I'm not all that sure that Shakespeare didn't write a parody of a tragedy. Pennington is a good actor but I think was misdirected in this interpretation of Mark Antony. I couldn't get myself to feel any sympathy for the characters and sadly just wanted it to end. Bit of a sadness for glorious Chichester because this hasn't been one of its best seasons despite celebrating fifty wonderful years....

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