The good news is that Simon Godwin's production is better than Matthias' but it is not without it's own sandtraps. In the more Director-Theatre moments I counted off the already-hackneyed cliches of the modern dress Shakespeare productions du jour - the suited politico costumes for the powerful, the battles staged as machine-gun-rattling, hand-grenade-throwing close-hand combat as in Iraq, a video screen appearing to deliver rolling-news tv coverage of plot that usually happens offstage and the inevitable bulk-bought combat gear. So far, so un-original.
Luckily Godwin has the powerful combination of Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo to power the three and a half hour production along. Feinnes was very good as Antony, whose influence and power is dwindling due to his absence from Rome while lounging with Cleopatra in Egypt. He captured perfectly the world-weary soldier who simply cannot be bothered with the power games of Octavius in Rome but who is dragged back into that world at the death of his neglected wife Fulvia. First seen in a pair of baggy harem pants and a little pot belly, Fiennes captured the essence of a bored man without making him boring. I hooted when Antony cracked opened a bottle of beer while talking to his retinue at the start of the play - was Godwin aware of Sid James doing that in CARRY ON CLEO as later referenced by The Smiths in SOME GIRLS ARE BIGGER THAN OTHERS?
There is a telling segment in the documentary THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A DAME where Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins talk about their experiences with ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA and Atkins points out that she has never met an actor who didn't complain about playing Antony: namely because only when they have committed to the role, they realize that it is in fact Cleopatra which is the better role and by then it's too late to back out. She cites Alan Bates in particular as having told her that he disliked it - to which Mags slyly adds "That's because he wanted to play Cleopatra".
The quartet also reflect on the role with Atkins saying she turned the role down four times because she didn't have the courage to take it on and Plowright saying she did not do it when Jonathan Miller asked her to perform it at the National as most people would complain she only got it as she was married to Olivier. Maggie Smith says she didn't have the courage to play it in the UK so went to Canada to play it away from critical eyes and Dench says she only agreed to do it after asking Peter Hall did he really want his Cleopatra to be a "menopausal dwarf". Luckily Okonedo is not a dwarf and has the courage to take it on.
In truth she grew into the performance as the evening progressed: she first seemed too lightweight with her oddly-pitched voice to conquer the role - her 1970s Halston pantsuit also was an odd choice - but as we inched closer to the plateau of Act 5 where, with Antony dead, Cleopatra is the focal point of the play, Okonedo assumed the dominance needed and I felt I could not take my eyes off of her. Our last Cleopatra was Eve Best at the Globe and she resolutely refused to grow in stature in the final scenes where Cleopatra creates and enters into her own legend: no such issues with Okonedo, who went out in an ice-cold blaze of passion.
There is fine work to be found in the supporting performances: particularly Fisayo Akinade as Eros who excelled in the scene where, rather than watch Antony die, he kills himself with Antony's sword. Gloria Obianyo and Georgia Landers both impressed as Charmian and Iras, Cleopatra's maids who find their own niches in their Queen's legend.
Nicholas Le Prevost as Lepidus and Hannah Morrish as Octavia gave good performances in rather disposable roles while Tunji Kasim as Octavius and Tim McMullan as Enobarbus gave disposable performances in good roles - McMullan's dreary delivery pissing away the glorious "the barge in which she sat" speech.
Hildegard Bechtler's set design was impressive for the Egyptian palace with it's expanse and sunken pools - just begging for someone to be pushed into - but went for dreary corporate design for Rome... yes, we get that Rome is about Power but for God's sake give us some bling. I am not asking for recreations of the lavish Henry Irving Lyceum productions but spend some cash for God's sake! Evie Gurney's costumes were also drably dull.
But Godwin - who is leaving the UK to become Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in the US - kept the pace going through-out and the three hours plus running time was unnoticeable.
Again, another ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA falls short of being a truly great production but there is enough there to encourage a visit to see Shakespeare's play about the end of an epoch and the beginning of a legend. The production will be shown in cinemas as part of NT Live on 6th December, probably the only chance to see it as practically all performances are sold out. However always bear in mind that day seats are always available to personal callers from 9.30am as well as the online Friday Rush scheme.
