Antony & Cleopatra at The Olivier

The only other theatre production of Antony & Cleopatra that I’ve seen was in 1987 when Peter Hall directed Judi Dench and Anthony Hopkins as the middle-aged lovers.  It was a hot ticket at the time and will be forever in my memory as one of the best Shakespearian productions I have seen.  And now we have Simon Godwin directing Sophie Okonedo and Ralph Fiennes in the same roles in the same theatre.  There wasn’t a spare seat in view on the night I went and I’m guessing this version will also be a must see.

This is an epic production of an epic play that is at once a love story and political thriller.  Antony, one of Rome’s triumvirate, decamps to Egypt and falls head over heels in love with the Queen of the Nile.  This results in a betrayal to end all betrayals when he becomes head of the Egyptian Navy. It is a play about the conflict between public and private and what can happen when a great military man tries his hardest to prove he’s not past his prime.

Simon Godwin’s production, aided by Hildegard Bechtler’s lavish set, more than does justice to the size and scope of the Olivier.  He also cleverly starts the play at the end, so that our first sighting of Antony and Cleopatra together is with the former kneeling beside his lover’s body and awakening her with a kiss.  The sexual chemistry between them is palpable from the outset and who wouldn’t fall in love with a Cleopatra as dazzling as this?  Okonedo’s beautiful costumes don’t hinder her ability to seduce and Evie Gurney must be congratulated for dressing this beguiling Queen of the Nile in outfits that wouldn’t look out of place in the Golden Age of Hollywood.  It also helps that the fifty- year old (who can believe that) actress has the figure to set them off to perfection.  She is also perfect at highlighting Cleopatra’s contradictory nature and the fact that alongside her wilfulness this Queen has a keen sense of fun.  Act One definitely belongs to her.

Act Two sees Ralph Fiennes in military mode, having abandoned his Egyptian holiday gear which, unfortunately showed a little too much middle-aged spread.  He has also reclaimed his neck to some degree – earlier on his Antony was a little too stooped for comfort.  This is the Fiennes we know and love and he seems much happier in uniform (maybe relief at ditching the stomach flashing rig-out has something to do with it).  We start believing that Antony really has been revitalised by his “armourer of my heart”. Intense and full of purpose now that he is on the battlefield, we more than understand his ultimate distress on realising there is a major difference between the legend he was and the reality of what he is now.  His is a real living, breathing Antony, warts and all. Talking of battlefield, the highlight of this second half is the brilliantly choreographed battle scene; I have never seen one executed better. 

The supporting cast help to make this a stirring Antony & Cleopatra, especially the very amusing Fisayo Akinade playing Eros and Katy Stephens’ Agrippa. Praise too, to Michael Bruce, for supplying the wonderfully atmospheric music.  There are times when the effect is spine tingling.

This version of Shakespeare’s hefty tragedy beautifully captures the mightiness of war alongside an intimate love story doomed to failure.  Despite its monumental three-and-a-half hours and overlong death scenes, I can’t recommend it highly enough.  Mind you I’m glad I didn’t have a front row seat as, thanks to my aversion to snakes the real live one used by Cleopatra would have been too close for comfort.