Cymbeline

Synopsis

Imogen marries Posthumus against her father's wishes. Posthumous is exiled and while there told that he has lost his bet that his wife would be faithful. He plots a jealous reunion and revenge. Unaware, Imogene travels to meet him but after some strange occurrences she gets into disguise as a man - in a drugged sleep in a cave with a man and his two sons she awakes next to a headless corpse.

Our Review:

7 August 2003

One of the bard's later plays, Cymbeline is less frequently produced (its last major outing was in Mike Alfreds' 2001 version), and it's easy to see why.

Not only does Shakespeare include lots of fairytale elements (baby princes snatched from their beds and a wicked stepmother), but he appears to have plucked good plot formulas from earlier works and intertwined them in an attempt at something new. He also includes myriad tricksy devices like cross-dressing, mistaken identity and wagers against women's honour, making Cymbeline so complex and multi-layered that, in the wrong hands, the results could be disastrous.

Imogen and Posthumus are wed against the wishes of Imogen's father King Cymbeline, who intended her to marry her buffoon-like stepbrother Cloten. Posthumus is banished and goes to Rome, where he meets Iachimo who bets Posthumus a sizeable amount of money, and Imogen's diamond remembrance ring, that he can 'taste' Posthu...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (193.118.203.3) - 3 November 2003:

Purists/Academics don't like Cymbeline but I do. It's just so much fun. Emma Fielding was a superb Imogen, level-headed and engaging. Almost my favourite Shakespeare production of 2003 (Two gents in Regent's Park was the tops)...

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