Advertisement

Julius Caesar/Antony and Cleopatra, theatre review: RSC double bill builds Rome in a day

Political thriller: Josette Simon as Cleopatra and Antony Byrne as Mark Antony in Antony & Cleopatra: Helen Maybanks
Political thriller: Josette Simon as Cleopatra and Antony Byrne as Mark Antony in Antony & Cleopatra: Helen Maybanks

Julius Caesar ***, Antony and Cleopatra ****

The RSC is engaged in mighty projects. 17 plays into its stately undertaking to present each of the works of Shakespeare just once in an eight-year period, it now embarks on a four-part Rome season. It’s a rare and unusual pleasure to be able to watch a grand sweep of Roman politicking unfold over matinee and evening performances, and this Antony and Cleopatra is the best I have ever seen.

‘It’s very clear’, said an audience member at the interval of Julius Caesar. Angus Jackson’s production certainly is, and admirably so: it would make the perfect ground-establishing outing for A-Level students.

But, goodness, it’s slow, with none of the hurtling urgency and momentum this play so desperately requires, especially given that it always runs out of steam once Caesar has been assassinated. A playing time of more than three hours for one of the shortest pieces in the canon is also no help whatsoever.

No one is saying that theatre should be all about thrill-seeking, but a bit of excitement here wouldn’t go amiss. As it is, there is solid verse-speaking, some particularly crafty oratory from James Corrigan’s Mark Antony and very little else.

Theatrical history is dotted with productions of Antony and Cleopatra that famously haven’t worked. This one, delightfully, does.

Iqbal Khan offers a fluid and confident reading, that takes its time to establish, crucially, the luxury and opulence of Cleopatra’s court, the ‘eastern otherness’ that has lured Antony (Antony Byrne) from his Roman duty. Byrne makes him a no-nonsense warrior and pleasure-seeker, beguiled by Josette Simon’s magnificent, mercurial Cleopatra.

Simon’s voice and accent shift tantalisingly and unknowably, swaying to unheard rhythms of power and pleasure. Her close and sinuous relationship with her attendants is notable. Add to this the constant, gripping quality of a political thriller and the RSC has a palpable hit.

In rep until Sept 9, Royal Shakespeare Theatre; rsc.org.uk