Though “Antony & Cleopatra” at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is delivered in two languages – spoken English and British Sign Language (BSL) – impassioned acting aided by projected text keep the audience intrigued throughout this rarely staged tragedy of love and politics.
Directed by Blanche McIntyre with Associate Director Charlotte Arrowsmith, this rendition features several deaf actors, with some scenes silently delivered in untranslated BSL but with Shakespeare’s entire text displayed in superscript on four screens around the wooden-O theatre, making it easy for audiences to not only follow along in either mode of delivery but appreciate anew Shakespeare’s language and the actors’ prowess.
In their central roles, deaf actor Nadia Nadarajah as Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, and speaking and signing actor John Hollingworth as the Roman general Mark Antony, immerse themselves as star-crossed lovers.
The petite Nadarajah inhabits Cleopatra with a fiery spark fit for a regal queen who not only knows her own mind and heart but also how to politically and personally survive against Roman power, whether that’s hiding, lying or even dying to preserve her reputation.
And the robust Hollingworth brings a resolute strength with a lover’s softness to his Antony, making palpable the unlikely bond that cements these two powerful figures—and ultimately dooms them.
In a way, the pair evoke the forbidden love of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere from England’s Arthurian romance, with the upright Julius Caesar (a fittingly cast Bert Seymour) as the upright King Arthur.
Antony and Cleopatra’s love here is portrayed as so fierce that it defies loyalty and authority, a torrential river whose natural course has disastrous consequences.
For Antony, love for the tempestuous Cleopatra makes apparent his own ethical weakness. Early on, we see him suppress happiness, or at least not be that grieved, to hear that his wife Fulvia has died. When Roman Emperor Octavius (Seymour) then bonds him to sister Octavia (a dynamic Gabriella Leon, who both speaks and signs), we see Antony profess loyalty to her on his knee, only to fall into Cleopatra’s arms the next chance he gets.
And during a Roman maritime civil war also involving Egypt, Antony’s ship shamefully follows Cleopatra’s when she retreats—a move even he regrets. He even has a hard time taking his own life, having to learn from his servant Eros (Mark Donald) how to muster the will, and even then botching the job. (Kudos to Hollingworth for maintaining solemnity while the audience inevitably titters over how long it takes Antony to die.)
For her part, Cleopatra puerilely insists on loving Antony, even asking the poor messenger — hilariously portrayed by deaf actor Nadeem Islam, who steals every scene he’s in — to describe Octavia, which he exaggerates negatively at the suggestion of Cleopatra’s entourage to save his own life.
But as a woman, Cleopatra must manipulate to survive, playing up to Caesar when he arrives as victor before passively allowing a snake to bite and poison her to death rather than be shamed in Rome.
A large orange moon in varying degrees of fullness draped over the stage reflects the emotional quality of the relationship at the heart of this story. Sentiment pervades in Egypt, including among Cleopatra’s three indulgent handmaidens Iras (Leon), Seleucus (Rhiannon May) and Charmian (Zoë McWhinney ), though Seleucus seemingly betrays her by not playing along in her charade for Caesar, instead telling the truth, with Cleopatra then chasing her around the stage in a petulant rage.
Costuming (by Simon Daw and Natalia Alvarez) uses pleasingly coordinated colors— the queen in gowns of gold and later peacock blue, matching Antony’s toga, her striking eye makeup reminiscent of Egyptian sarcophagi.
While signed performances take a minute to get used to if you are only an English speaker, it thereafter adds an intriguing element to the play, as if being able to “hear” it underwater, thanks to the enthusiasm of the signing actors, including an expressive William Grint as soothsayer.
Los Angeles theatre-goers may remember similarly impassioned signing in Getty Villa’s 2022 “Oedipus” that was spoken and signed at the same time. And also how alternate renditions of plays inherently bring out their possibilities, as with Troubadour Theatre’s recent and hilarious “Duran DurAntony & Cleopatra.”
There are a lot of characters in this play, though, requiring some of the actors to perform in multiple roles, which can get confusing. When the actress playing Octavia appears as the tortured Thyreus, we’re not sure if it’s Octavia in disguise (this being Shakespeare, after all) or truly someone else. And the extended ending with the queen and her handmaidens dying or not dying may be a tad more melodramatic than warranted.
But this is Shakespeare! And the Globe’s production of “Antony & Cleopatra” offers a unique multidimensional immersion in his language — spoken, signed and visible all around his rebuilt theatre — relating an emo story of palpable, powerful, ill-fated love.
“Antony & Cleopatra” continues through Sept. 15 at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, 21 New Globe Walk, London, with performances Tuesdays through Sundays. For tickets and information, visit ShakespearesGlobe.com. Run time is 2 hours and 45 minutes, including intermission.
Kommentarer