Anticipation in the air was palpable as the audience awaited Kim Cattrall’s Shakespearian debut, and moreover, the first time treading the boards in her hometown.
The question on everyone’s lips: would sexy maneater Samantha from Sex and The City fair well in her bold decision to tackle, arguably, the strongest female The Bard ever created?
Cattrall embodied all of Cleopatra’s wry wit and powers of seduction, her immense strength yet immature vulnerability in love shone through. The ageing Queen of the Nile’s affair with Mark Antony takes over all reason, as both parties fail to realise their infatuation with one another will destroy the world around them. Yet, the chemistry between Cattrall and Kissoon is at times lacklustre, which disappoints somewhat in a tale supposed to be the most passionate re-telling of history’s infamous lovers.
The first in-house production at The Playhouse this season, Antony and Cleopatra is staged against a simple backdrop, with modernised costumes leaving much to be desired.
The grandeur of Alexandria Palace is represented merely by a number of Egyptian lanterns, lifted up and down on wires as the scene changes to Octavius Caesar’s house in Rome, to both naval and military forces from East to West. A brick wall forms the rear of the stage, while a fixed raised metal gantry walkway enables the players to clamber between two levels as war breaks out between Roman and Egyptian armies, and so too does Antony and Cleopatra’s love story turn battleground.
Directed by Janet Suzman, famed for her own iconic stage portrayal of Cleopatra in the 1970s, Suzman has clearly drawn every ounce of dramatic prowess from not only her successor in the role but from the entire company. Jeffery Kissoon’s Mark Antony delivers the love-struck Lothario at his tempestuous best, torn between his military and his lust.
A lull in action during the first half is, thankfully, eradicated after the interval, however the plot plunges along without allowing chance to pause for breath or linger over Shakespeare’s meaty lines of prose.
Martin Hutson’s Octavius Caesar carried much of the play’s sharp humour, as familiarity quickly turns to disdain as Antony deserts his wife, Caesar’s sister Octavia, to declare himself and Cleopatra joint rulers of Rome’s eastern provinces.
Warfare brings catastrophic failure, and Antony, consumed by fury and paranoia accuses Cleopatra of betraying him to Octavius. She flees to safety sending word to Antony that she is dead. As with many relationship mind games, it backfires, and Antony purposely falls upon his dagger. Those familiar with Shakespearian tragedy can guess what happens next. True to the documented history of Cleopatra’s death, heartbroken and defiant, Cleopatra follows Antony gladly to the grave, her two maids poisoned alongside her.
Cattrall perfectly executes the dramatic death scene, and fans of the star will not fail to be compelled by her moving portrayal of this iconic Queen, her voice hoarse with emotion by the end of the three-hour performance.
8/10
Antony and Cleopatra will run at the Liverpool Playhouse until Saturday 13th November.
Book tickets now at: http://www.everymanplayhouse.com or call Box Office: 0151 709 4776
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