Antony and Cleopatra – Pumphouse Theatre, January 22, 2023

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Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare’s great play of geopolitics and history, a legendary love affair with comedy and tragedy, comes to life splendidly at the outdoor Pumphouse Theatre.

Players: Samantha Ellwood, Grae Burton, Rama Buisson, Toby Furmanski, John Blackman, Asha O’Connor, Sophia Kirkwood-Smith

Director: Jason Moffatt

The play is set in the time after the assassination of Julius Caesar, when the Roman Empire was ruled by a triumvirate of Octavius Caesar ( Julius’s son), Mark Antony and Lepidus.

Antony (Grae Burton) has been wiling away his time in seducing, and being seduced by the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra (Samantha Ellwood).

The two leads make this production come alive. Antony is full of testosterone male ego and enjoys devoted camaraderie from his close  lieutenants, like Endobarbus (Toby Furmanski).

Cleopatra may be the strongest female character that Shakespeare created. Ellwood plays her as a bewitching presence. Though she is seductively beautiful, she has a keen intelligence. In their scenes together, you get the clear impression the warrior male ego is a better man at the hands of strong feminine charms.

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety. Other women cloy the appetites they feed, but she makes hungry where most she satisfies.

Long before Freud and Jung, Shakespeare understood the basic instincts which rule all human endeavour, and especially kingdoms, empires and politics. Lust and love, virility and power, jealousy and war.

Cleopatra’s maids-in-waiting are all dressed in virginal white. This acts to enhance the seductive guiles of Cleo. She can be terrible with rage. She personally whips young messengers who bring her bad news. At times she needs a hand brake too.

The clash of powerful male egos is at the heart of the play. Octavius Caesar (Rama Buisson) is played with a cool steely presence. He is Apocalyse Now’s Colonel Kurtz, in contrast with Antony’s Colonel Kilgore (I love the smell of napalm in the morning).

Antony is open about his passion for women and the battlefield. Octavius is perhaps more deadly.

The Pumphouse becomes a superb presence of its own, for this production. The play involves the whole theatre space, so the audience is placed intimately inside the performance. I have not worked out if the background noise of whooping and carousing was genuine, or part of the sound and light desk.

The setting is more intimate than the fabulous Globe Theatre at Ellerslie, which ran for several seasons. I saw all the productions.

The staging is minimal but effective. Turning pillows of a couch from one side to another signifies the scene changes from Rome to Alexandria.

The shift from day to night heralds the impending tragedy from which all tales heroic and epic will end.

A key prop is a map of the Mediterranean. This helps immensely in following the geopolitics that are played out over the course of the story. One of the most important trading routes in ancient times, and control of this was key to the power of the Roman Empire. It still is to this day. Eastern Europe, the Baltic States, North Africa and the water they surround are key to understanding the current conflicts.

Cleopatra was created by Shakespeare as a temptress but ultimately a powerful compassionate presence. She was not as compromised as Lady MacBeth, and she is sexier than Portia (Merchant of Venice). Ellwood does a fine job conveying this.

Feminine energy of this type can be seen in modern day politics. Like the youngest Prime Minister in history when she took office. Had a baby whilst serving her term. Dealt with many crises both local and global. Wore a hijab occasionally to indicate empathy with an embattled ethnicity. Benazir Bhutto of course, from Pakistan.

Antony marries Octavius’s sister for political stability. He goes to war against usurpers and suffers his first defeat. He feels betrayed by Cleopatra and starts to doubt his own judgement and virility.

Night has fallen and so have the heroine and her hero.

Antony and Cleopatra is a fabulous production and is well worth seeking out over the season. Now playing through February 18th at The Pumphouse Theatre

Rev Orange Peel                      

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