Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra

Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra

This article relates to Mona Acts Out

In Mona Acts Out, seasoned actress Mona Zahid is about to start rehearsals for her role as Cleopatra in Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra. Mona approaches the whole thing with trepidation, citing that she's "never actually seen a great Cleopatra," as the character is many-layered and must command the stage through the show up until the last thirty minutes in the play, when she must "keep the audience already up past eleven right with her while she kill[s] herself."

Based on accounts written by Greek biographer and historian Plutarch, Antony and Cleopatra is Shakespeare's famous dramatization of the events surrounding Augustus Caesar's rise in the Roman Empire, with an emphasis on Caesar's political manipulation of military leader Marc Antony, as well as how it plays out in Antony's infamous love affair with the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra. In Plutarch's accounts, Cleopatra is described as "irresistible" due to her charisma and legendary beauty, often characterized by her long nose as depicted in her portraits on coins. Cleopatra is also well known for having two powerful lovers in her lifetime. In contrast to her relationship with Caesar, Shakespeare's play emphasizes the superior, fated nature of Antony and Cleopatra's affair by having the lovers compare themselves with gods and demigods.

Antony and Cleopatra was printed in Shakespeare's First Folio in 1623. The play's first theatrical production is much harder to date, but it must have taken place by the time it was registered in 1608 by the Stationers' Company, a trade and craft registry in London. Since then, the play has been produced many times on modern stages, all over the world. Past productions in London, particularly by the Royal Theater Company, include some famous runs, in 1953 with Michael Redgrave and Peggy Ashcroft playing the title characters, as well as in 1982 with Michael Gambon and Helen Mirren and 2006 with Patrick Stewart and Harriet Walter.

Promotional poster for 2006 production of Antony and Cleopatra, courtesy of Royal Shakespeare Company

Filed under Music and the Arts

This article relates to Mona Acts Out. It first ran in the February 12, 2025 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.