Review: EDINBURGH 2024: HOUSE OF CLEOPATRA, Assembly Checkpoint

“Herstory is messy”

With a book by Laura Kleinbaum, music by Jeff Daye and lyrics by both Kleinbaum and Daye, House of Cleopatra brings audiences into the world of the iconic queen through pop music in a club-like atmosphere. Audience members stand and watch as most of the action takes place on stage, though it does sometimes spill out into the crowd. We have a host who acts as both an MC and a narrator throughout the seventy-minute show, giving us context for the scenes we are seeing while also being a character within the show. 

The plot follows how Cleopatra and Marc Antony lose Egypt to Octavius through a series of songs and moments of dialogue. Even though the show is still set in Ancient Egypt as Cleopatra’s power begins to decline, the performers are dressed in modern clothing, reminiscent of costumes that boxers and/or fighters wear. There is a strange mix of modern and older language, with phrases like “We know you have the tea, spill it” being used in between discussions of battle plans. There appears to be a fight for Cleopatra’s love between Marc Antony and Iris, but the level of romance in the relationship between Iris and Cleopatra is never confirmed, leaving much up to interpretation. 

A highlight of the show is its choreography, with the ensemble giving us some truly spectacular dance moves throughout the night. I particularly enjoyed when the ensemble would go into the crowd, mingling with audience members while still performing the choreography, encouraging those they interacted with to dance as well. It appears, however, that the ensemble members did not have microphones as it was nearly impossible to hear what they were singing, only being able to hear harmonies during some numbers.

Unfortunately, even if I wanted to delve into the lyrics and plot of the show, it would be extremely difficult as, due to poor sound design, it is difficult to hear the words being said over the pounding beats. If anything, it is more of a club show than a musical, and I heard quite a few audience members around me being surprised at the fact that there were little to no places to sit and that standing was the norm for this performance. From the lyrics that I was able to hear and understand, they were quite repetitive and none of them were quite memorable. 

House of Cleopatra is a show with an interesting concept that fails to execute its immersiveness in a way that is effective and engaging. The performers are passionate and talented, but the strange setup and poor sound design make for a show that is difficult to enjoy. Some more dialogue and character development would have really added to the show as a whole. 

House of Cleopatra ran until 25 August at Assembly Checkpoint.

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