Antony and Cleopatra (take one)

Last week to see Josette Simon do Cleopatra at the Barbican, an actress best known to us for her striking role in a tight red dress in 'The Mystery of the Blue Train', an Agatha yarn which we have watched several times now. Plus she is an ITV3 regular. But we now know that she had her beginnings in sci-fi drama, with Bing turning up the elderly snap left. Also that she is a resident of Crouch End and was once married to the tenor Mark Padmore, noticed, for example, at reference 2.

Old enough now to sport an OBE and perhaps about the same age as Helen Mirren was when she got her kit off in the very same play. But still very fit, with a natural, physical grace which us whites find hard to match.

Frosty enough to worry about slipping when we left home, although I passed on the stick as I thought it likely that it would get left somewhere. Found our way, without slipping anywhere, to the No.4 bus which carried us off to the Barbican, passing on the way two Chinese wedding parties being photographed in the little garden behind St. Paul's. Curious, this custom of theirs to have photographs taken in all kinds of odd places, other than where they actually got married.

Noticeable number of very fat people in the audience. Quite a lot of people of working age, despite it being the afternoon of a working day. Quite a few children.

The stage was rather clever, dominated by a rather gaunt temple like structure. A structure which revolved and which could be adapted to the shifting needs of the play. But leaving plenty of space out front. Costumes vaguely Roman which was good - our having declined Corialanus and Titus Andronicus from the same series on the grounds that they were being done in modern dress, which we often find tiresome. Not least in fight scenes which are supposed to involve daggers and swords. A small orchestra spread across a couple of balconies supplemented the taped music and we got a couple of song & dance interludes. Rather loud and rather too much of a good thing.

As we have come to expect, some inappropriate tittering from the audience, some finding it hard to react in a more adult way to the idea that some people might believe in honour, or gods or whatever.

Cleopatra was also a bit too much into titters for my liking, but generally good. I wondered afterwards about Shakespeare writing the part of a 40 year old woman to be played by a boy and about it being played here by someone more than fifty (wikipedia being unusually coy on this point). We had a reprise of the Mirren stripping off in order to put on her regalia for her death scene. Her two maids seemed rather short and dumpy by comparison.

Antony unimpressive. He suffered from the Globe disease of being rather middle aged and overweight and quite unconvincing as an inspirational if erratic general. Octavian unimpressive. I much prefer the short haired approach to the long haired approach offered here. The television series called 'Rome' managed this casting rather better.

Enobarbus rather good. With a rather different but also rather good rendition of the barge speech.

I didn't like the clumsy and messy handling of the body of the dying Antony. The occasion for more tittering. Perhaps the director thought that such clumsiness was a likely ingredient of such a scene in real life, which it may well be. But I felt that in the play, a bit more respect would have been better.

Not bad, but too long at around three hours. Probably despite heavy cutting. As is often the case with me, better in the second half than the first.

Thought about eating on the way home, but failed, despite being strongly tempted by the Edward Rayne at Raynes Park. Decided that something more decorous at home would suit better.

Back home, I turned up the Mark Antony chapter in Baring-Gould, who advances the theory that after an unfortunate upbringing, Antony did best when working to a strong and able leader. In the first instance, Julius Caesar and in the second Cleopatra. A lady better known for her intelligence and force of personality than for her beauty.

But I shall go back for more in a couple of weeks time. We shall see what I have to say then. But the show can't be doing that well as the almost identical seat is now £20 cheaper than it was first time around.

Reference 1: http://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=mirren+dream. The Mirren version must have been quite a while ago now, with this reference from 2009 merely referring back, rather than noticing the performance itself.

Reference 2: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/winter-journey.html.

Reference 3: The Tragedy of the Caesars - S. Baring Gould - 1892.