Antony and Cleopatra -- Bard on the Beach

Story in 2 sentences:
Octavius Caesar takes advantage of Mark Antony's midlife crisis. Cleopatra does too, but in a different way and with less long-term success.

People who should see this show:
People who don't think you should mess with Shakespeare.
People who like over-enunciated words that are disconnected from any meaning.
People with nothing better to do.


We worried a bit before the show. Would we get there on time? Would we get good seats? Would Haig Sutherland be in it? We couldn't answer the first two questions, but the last required only a few clicks of the mouse: yes, Haig Sutherland would be in it. Crap.

We tried to be positive. Maybe he would interpret this part differently. Maybe he would not have as much stage time this year. Maybe he wouldn't ruin the show. But in our hearts, we knew it was going to be a long night.

Made even longer by Bard on the Beach's insistence on sticking with their "first-come-first-served-put-your-name-on-a-chair-to-reserve-it" system. Seriously, just have assigned seating or not.

This system makes the lineup interminable, and generally in the middle of the sun. Neither Hubby nor I enjoy lines or sunshine, so we sat in the shade and judged audience members as we waited. Judging people is definitely something we enjoy. We pointed out to each other who hated Shakespeare but was being dragged there, who hated Shakespeare but pretended not to, who would be nodding along sagely with the actors, and who had bad hair.

At last the lineup began to move, and eventually we joined it. Our seats were fine. Back row, centre -- the back row is still really close to the stage. We then went to get some coffee (Hubby is one of those people who gets dragged there, and needs a little help to get through the evening). The harried volunteers at the concession stand were running about, brows creased as they counted out change, looking for work to do. An enjoyable prelude to the evening.

We milled about for a while, then went back to our seats. The guy came out to do the commercial (grr), everyone applauded (except me -- I don't enjoy commercials) and the show began.

Apparently, there is a standard interpretation of Antony and Cleopatra: sensual, feminine Egypt represents one part of Marc Antony's personality, and austere, masculine Rome the other. Certainly a valid interpretation, however boring it may be. Possibly it was not boring when it was first interpreted that way. Very boring now, particularly when no other intellectual work goes into the production, and the creative team instead concentrates all their energy to emphasizing the stereotypes.

This was a standard production. Standard set (the best part was gazing through the hole in the tent at the mountains when Haig Sutherland started talking), Standard costuming (with the exception of a few of Cleopatra's accessories), standard direction, and generally standard acting. It was sort of like watching an Olivier movie, without the Olivier.

Antony and Cleopatra was one of Shakepeare's later plays, and disregards the rules of unity; action occurs in Egypt and Rome, it spans quite a long time, and there's a lot goin on. Fine, I don't care much for rules, but without careful direction it makes for a busy play. Scott Bellis wasn't all that careful. While the play itself converges to a unified story, his direction did not. To the last scene it was disjointed.

The performances, as I said, were standard. Haig Sutherland, as Octavius Caesar, over-enunciated every word in a quizzical voice as though he were stoned. Sort of like a confused Charlie Brown's teacher. Jennifer Lines, as Cleopatra, was excellent. She played both the comedy and tragedy of the role to perfection, but couldn't save the show. Andrew Wheeler as Mark Antony was fine. Unfortunately, the stereotyped standard interpretation made most of the smaller parts quite forgettable: John Murphy's cartoonish Alexas stands out, but not for good reasons; Shawn MacDonald's messenger was funny.

Hubby and I discussed it on our way home. Next year we'll look at the casting before we buy tickets.

See the show if you must, but I wouldn't if I were you. Plays until September 24.

Some Highlights:
Knowing that the rest of the Bard shows are going to be better than this one.
Jennifer Lines' scenes with Shawn MacDonald: both are good, but the second was the funner.
Jennifer Lines' Cleopatra: she's great.
The sea-battle scenes were kinda cool.