Review: Come You Spirits’ Delivers A Unique Condensed Version of ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

Come You Spirits Theatre Inc delivers their take on Shakespeare’s tragedy of ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA in an unusual multi-space staging.  Seeking to make the Bard more accessible to new audiences, the tragic love story is distilled to three characters telling the key moments of the famous story over 90 minutes, plus interval.

Company founders Charles Mayer and Jo Bloom lead the production as Antony and Cleopatra respectively with Charley Allannah taking on the role of High Priestess Charmian and Nathan “Bear” Meola providing a guiding role as Master of Ceremony.  The story has been condensed to giving the audience enough of an awareness that Egyptian Queen Cleopatra has been having a steamy affair with one of the Triumvir of  the Roman Republic, Mark Antony,  but he is recalled to Rome when his wife Fulvia dies.  The Queen of Egypt is distraught and in a somewhat obsessive move, seeks to find out what is happening across the sea which is where her Maid of Honour and High Priestess Charmian shares her power.  The significant gaps in the story, left by the removal of some thirty characters, are filled by Bear’s introductions to the various scenes.

In addition to the work being heavily distilled, it has also been designed to have the audience move between venues, for this season, utilising the foyer of The Lounge theatre space which appears to share an entrance with the Chatwood Library, and The Lounge theatre itself, an expansive cabaret style venue.  The foyer space isn’t ideal for the nature of the work with too many sounds of patrons for other venues travelling into the space and posing a distraction and a hindrance to hearing the performers, particularly the soft-spoken Bear.  The separate spaces seem to be designed (Letitia Hodgkinson: Set and costume design) for a grand reveal but when moving into The Lounge space, Cleopatra’s chambers are constructed more on the cabaret floor rather than the raised stage removing some of the surprise as the audience has to walk past the tableau before the performance resumes. 

From what could be observed, the intention that Come You Spirits has is to bring theatre to audiences that may not usually consider attending, making it accessible to those that may have previously feared live performance.  The marketing that indicates an immersive experience may cause those that are already cautious to be apprehensive but for some the description didn’t seem to phase, to the point that wine buckets and snack boxes were left on the podium stage right until the performers made their way atop it.  The interactivity promised was very minimal with Charley Allannah’s Charmian being the main character to interact with the audience which she did with the grace and skill that saw her gauge which audience members were receptive to interaction, and which were drawing away. 

As an introduction to live performance and Shakespeare for a demographic not used to theatre, this is a safe introduction.  The company seem to have an underlying focus on emotional safety and calmness, which for someone used to wanting theatre to move the soul deeply and provoke thought, was somewhat unsettling, feeling like the audience has been robbed of the emotion that Shakespeare wanted to invoke in his audience.  While the execution could benefit from further finessing, the concept is good and it will be interesting to see how Come You Spirits develops and grows as a theatre company over the coming years.

To post a comment, you must register and login.