Shirine Babb and Cody Nickell (Teresa Wood)
Directed by Robert Richmond, Folger’s Antony & Cleopatra is rich in emotion and production value. This Shakespeare tragedy packs in enough drama, comedy, and romance to keep a diverse audience happy.
Like many romances, Antony and Cleopatra’s begins with gaiety but ends disastrously, as light hearts swell and burst. Love is a messy, dramatic business, especially when politics and legal spouses are thrown into the mix. Richmond deftly balances the highs and miserable lows of the historic romance and the battles developing behind it.
Cleopatra is a queen, and not merely in title. Beautiful, clever, charming, and strong, she is a diva in the first order, a woman deserving of the monologue that basically boils down to: “After me, everyone is a downgrade.”
A complex female character for sure, she is sultry, witty, temperamental, and unapologetically herself. But Cleopatra is not without her flaws. While she commands her own army and possesses political power and wealth, a man, pride, and a flair for drama are her undoing.
Antony & Cleopatra is a well-rounded play, both literally and figuratively. Staged in-the-round with an edgeless bed Hugh Hefner would approve of, the production provides audience members with a 360 degree view. That unhindered perspective aids the telling of this classic tale of romance and war. The rotating stage is used sparingly. Slowly turning during moments of intensity and drama, it highlights the feeling that the story is constantly developing as characters respond to new information.
As Octavius Caesar, Dylan Paul vacillates between pride and anger, a power-driven man who, depending how you interpret it, either jumps to defend his spurned sister’s honor or uses the slight as an excuse to go after Antony. It is difficult to see that calculation in Paul’s sweet apple pie face and demeanor, which serve him well as the smiling rival turned foe. As the friend and confidant Enorbarbus, Nigel Gore too is a skilled manipulator of emotion.
Cody Nickell is a rock star as Mark Antony, or maybe that’s just the wardrobe of billowy white shirts and lace-up leather pants. As he tries to balance his duties to his lover with those of his political allies, not all of whom are friends, Antony’s cool exterior begins to unravel. Nickell tells it well, but the true master of emotion is Shirine Babb, who steals all attention as a stunning Queen Cleopatra. Babb delivers fighting words, loving little nothings, sharp commentary (“Though it be honest, it is never good to bring bad news.”), and expertly maneuvers through mood swings.
From the centerpiece bedroom furniture and rotating stage by Tony Cisek to the flowing summery gowns, this production has sex appeal. As Cleopatra, Babb is perfectly romantic and regal in sequined dresses that hug her curves and display her toned legs. Wig design is similarly on point, swapping out Cleopatra’s long locs in Act I for a straight bob with bangs as the queen heads to war in Act II. Further compliments are owed to sound designer Adam Stamper, who sets the mood and enhances more than a few scenes with percussion-heavy compositions that pair well with choreography that evokes both dancing and fighting.
While the storyline of battle and politics ultimately drives the narrative, Antony & Cleopatra is still a tragic love story. It’s a show well timed for the approaching cuffing season, when one might seek a date night option to prime that “what are we” conversation. While your boo probably won’t appreciate threats and ultimatums, their wheels might start turning when they see what happens when these lovers play games. It’s nasty stuff, love and war.
Antony and Cleopatra is at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre through November 19. $35-$79. Buy tickets here.
