Hello, Antony and Cleopatra…

The first of August, and time for a new play.

It’s time for…

A-and-C

Antony and Cleopatra!

I’ve never read the play. I heard the whole Enobarbus “The barge she sat in like a burnished throne” speech. I knew about the asp.

I’ve seen it only once, last year at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

And I’m looking forward to these next three months!

Fun Fact: We are starting this play on an appropriate day. On August 1, 30BCE, Marc Antony died. After the defection of his army to Octavian a year earlier at the Battle of Actium, and Octavian’s invasion of Egypt, fearing that Cleopatra had already committed suicide, he stabbed himself. It was a mortal wound, and when he learned that Cleopatra still lived, according to legend, he had his followers take him to her, where he died in her arms.

3 Replies to “Hello, Antony and Cleopatra…”

  1. Has “Anthony and Cleopatra” ever been produced in any style but variations of “swords and sandles?” I have not found any.

    I think it would be well received in “Cinema Noir”. All the elements are there, the original femme fatale, a not particularly bright enforcer, and a cold, calculating boss in a winner take all turf battle. The asp would be a challenge.

    I loved your “Macbeth” tournament, good luck with “A & C.”

      1. Thanks. If “Henry V” can be placed in World War I, why not?

        I have to give credit for the inspiration. I live in Michigan and we get Canadian television and in the Black & White Era the Canadian Comedy duo of Wayne and Schuster did a sketch called “The Murder of Big Julie” based on the assassination of Julius Caesar, inspired by Shakespeare’s play. And it was tongue in cheek Cinema Noir.

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