For the first time in ten years, Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare’s epic story of love, duty, and power unfolds in the Globe Theatre in a ground-breaking bilingual production using Spoken English and British Sign Language.
Rome is a militant empire governed by three men. Egypt is an ancient kingdom ruled by a woman.
Despite their cultures being worlds apart, Roman general Antony falls for Egyptian queen Cleopatra, and abandons his responsibilities at home, to the disdain of his fellow ruler Octavius Caesar.
As their passion intensifies, so do the tensions between their countries. Before long, decisions are made that threaten devastating consequences for not only each other, but the very foundations of their two societies.
Blanche McIntyre (Measure for Measure; Twelfth Night: For One Night Only, Globe) directs Shakespeare’s blockbuster clash of cultures, with Charlotte Arrowsmith (Credit) as Associate Director and Nadia Nadarajah (Credit, Theatre) as Cleopatra.
‘Eternity was in our lips and eyes’
- Act I, scene 3
__Access performances__
All performances of Antony & Cleopatra will be captioned. The creative team of deaf and hearing artists and consultants will begin the creation process for the production in the spring. The Globe will therefore be able to provide further information on the creative integration of both British Sign Language and Spoken English in due course.
Relaxed - Sun 1 Sept 1pm & Thu 5 Sept 7.30pm
Audio described - Wed 4 Sept 2pm & Sun 15 Sept 1pm
To experience long moments of silence on stage might feel unusual or an uncomfortable experience for some and yet it isn’t and nor should it be, and this is the point, of course. Director Blanche McIntyre skilfully brings the audience into a world where we experience the full force of a tragedy and ultimately feel what it is like to fight with body and soul, for what and who you love.
Unfortunately, the structural drawbacks of the theatre conspire to make this more of an endurance test than thrilling theatrical experience. Unless you fit in the Venn diagram of hearing person and BSL fluent, if you want to know what’s going on you need to spend at least half of the play reading big chunks of text - and the whole thing with Shakespeare is that it has a far greater effect on you if you get the words direct from the actor. This is why teachers bring students to the theatre, rather than just making them read the script.
1846 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1909 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1924 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1937 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1947 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1951 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1997 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2008 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
The Public Theater Production Off-Broadway |
|
2018 | London |
The National Theatre, London London |
2017 | West End |
Royal Shakespeare Company Production West End |
2024 | West End |
West End |
Videos