ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA: Shakespeare, RSC, Stratford, till 13 July. Then London

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA: William Shakespeare
Main House, Stratford Upon Avon, Tkts 0870 609 1110: www.rsc.org.uk
Runs: 3h 10m, one interval, till 13 July
then Haymarket Theatre, London 28 August-21 September
and Theatre Royal, Newcastle-upon-Tyne 8-12 October 2002
Tkts (Newcastle): 0870 905 5060
Review: Rod Dungate, 23 April 2002-04-24

All the aspects come together in a production that enables you to see the play with a clarity with which you've probably never seen it before.It's not often that every aspect of a production dovetails neatly into place to open up a play: but that's just what happens in this strong and bold production. Attenborough's production is surehanded and nimble minded, Es Devlin's set emblazons the theme uncompromisingly before us without controlling it, and the acting is uniformly clear, precise and completely thought through.

Attenborough has chosen to bring forward the politicking within the play. It is specifically about the politics of the Roman Mediterranean (we can make the leap to our own time). Devlin's has conceived a huge map of the area to back the action in the Roman scenes hard black and grey and steely silver. In Egypt all this magically disappears into soft reds and golds. For the battle scenes, Devlin's map bursts furiously into flashing light Paddy Cunneen's supportive score erupting into the bash and crash of war. The battles literally happen across the Med in front of our eyes.

Just as in politics private and public life clash, so too, in this production, the two worlds (here, Rome and Alexandria) crash against each other. Attenborough, with neat pruning and interweaving of scenes, speeds the narrative and toughens its jagged edges.

If the play is to work an equilibrium must be held between the forces of Antony, Cleopatra and Caesar. Caesar has his eye on power and he will succeed because he is focused on it. Antony and Cleopatra have their eyes on a poetic (and genuine) love they are on a road to self-instigated destruction.

Stuart Wilson's Mark Antony is a man past his peak basking in the late love of a beautiful woman (and who wouldn't). But as he loses his military acumen, Wilson shows us the man losing control of himself. He expands the man's drunkenness and animal strength so that it becomes oafishness and vicious bullying. We begin to despise him. Cleopatra, on the other hand, in Sinead Cusack's performance, is girlie and unregal at the opening, but as Antony falls so she grows: as she stands by him in his growing foolishness we sense the depth of her love and we glimpse the true stature of her majesty. A great and proud path to her noble end.

Stephen Campbell-Moore's Caesar is most cleverly conceived too. At the opening he is show and stature, as the play moves on he begins to inhabit his authority. We see him calculate the effects of every action he leads but never from the thick of battle. He appears to treat life with the intellectual vigour we might give to a game of chess: he is clever, astute, but he never feels warm flesh and blood. 'Is his politics a replacement for his disengagement from life?' we wonder: we don't know, but, disturbingly, we do care.

Finally, a word about Clive Wood's towering Enobarbus. Wood falls naturally into a kind of blokiness, entirely fitting for this soldier. He is a rough, tough, no nonsense man: but, speaking of Cleopatra he is moved into a great romantic poetry that surprises even him. Yet his long journey takes him full circle to a romantic death. Wood creates an Enobarbus that is the people's centre of the play.

Mark Antony: Stuart Wilson
Enobarbus: Clive Wood
Scarus: John Killoran
Canidius: Ian Drysdale
Eros: Israel Aduramo
Decretas: Ross Walton
Euphronius: Julien Ball
Cleopatra: Sinead Cusack
Charmian: Noma Dumezweni
Iras: Kirsten Parker
Alexas: Simon Nagra
Mardian: Christian McKay
Diomedes: Ben Elliot
Soothsayer: Trevor Martin
Lady: Cristina Barreiro
Alexander: Charles Phipps/ Charles Hamblett
Ptolemy: Louis Hamblett/ Henry Phipps
Caesar: Stephen Campbell-Moore
Lepidus: Clifford Rose
Octavia: Sarah Ball
Maecenas: William Whymper
Agrippa: Simon Scott
Thidias: Steve Sarossy
Dolabella: John Hopkins
Proculeius: Clifford Rose
Gallus: Julian Jensen

Director: Michael Attenborough
Design: Es Devlin
Lighting: Tim Mitchell
Music: Paddy Cunneen
Sound: John Leonard

2002-04-24 20:17:50