Kim Cattrall and Michael Pennington to Lead ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA at Chichester Festival Theatre

International screen and stage star Kim Cattrall leads the cast of William Shakespeare's depiction of politics and passion, alongside distinguished actor Michael Pennington, in the final production at Chichester's Festival Theatre this summer.

Desire and duty collide in Shakespeare's captivating tragedy in which two charismatic leaders, Mark Antony of Rome and Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, are caught in an all-encompassing love that threatens the Empire. Like Romeo and Juliet, this is the tale of two impassioned lovers, doomed by the complexities of the world in which they live. But unlike the youth of Shakespeare's earlier tale, Antony and Cleopatra play out their tragic story among warring countries, where their relationship stirs jealousies and hostilities in the Roman and Egyptian political worlds.

Kim Cattrall plays Cleopatra, reprising the role she first played in the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse production in 2010. Perhaps best known for her memorable performance in the hit television series, Sex and the City, for which she won severAl Golden Globe Awards, she has also establishEd Strong stage credentials with credits that include Wild Honey (her Broadway debut alongside Ian McKellen), Private Lives (Theatre Royal Bath, West End, Broadway and Toronto), The Cryptogram (Donmar Warehouse) and Whose Life is it Anyway? (West End). Film credits include Sex and the City 1 and 2, Mannequin, Meet Monica Velour, The Ghost and Mannequin. Television credits include Any Human Heart and My Boy Jack.

Michael Pennington plays Antony. He is a leading Shakespearean actor whose credits include extensive work with the RSC, as well as his own English Shakespeare Company. His Chichester credits include The Syndicate, The Master Builder, Collaboration and Taking Sides (which both transferred to the West End) and The Front Page, as well as his solo shows, Anton Chekhov and Sweet William. Other theatre credits include Judgement Day (The Print Room), Love is My Sin (Paris and New York), The Misanthrope, Filumena, Waste, The Seagull and The Provok'd Wife (all for the Peter Hall Company). Screen credits include the Oscar-winning film The Iron Lady, in which he played Labour leader Michael Foot alongside Meryl Streep.

Ian Hogg plays Enobarbus. His theatre credits include Henry V, Mary Stuart, Three and Me and For Services Rendered (all for The National Theatre), As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Henry VIII, Cymbeline, Equus, Coriolanus, Marat Sade, The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Jew of Malta (all for the RSC).

Martin Hutson plays Octavius Caesar, reprising the role he played in 2010 at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse. He has already featured in Chichester's Festival 2012, playing Anthony Nutting in A Marvellous Year for Plums. Other Chichester credits include Taking Sides and Collaboration, which both transferred to the West End. Other theatre credits include The Heart of Robin Hood and Titus Andronicus (all for RSC), Ghosts and As You Like It, (receiving an Ian Charleson Award nomination for both productions), The Voysey Inheritance and The Mandate (both for The National Theatre) and The Jew of Malta (Almeida Theatre).

The cast also features Jack Bannell, Terry Doe, Ruth Everett, Chris Garner, Mark Gillis, Simon Hepworth, Martin Herdman, Oliver Hoare, Harmage Singh Kalirai, Aïcha Kossoko, Pepter Lunkuse, Cornelius Macarthy, Offue Okegbe, Barnaby Sax, Ken Shorter and Mark Sutherland.

Janet Suzman's distinguished career as an actor and director includes her own acclaimed performance in Antony and Cleopatra for the RSC, as well as roles in the West End productions of Hedda Gabler,The Birthday Party and Whose Life is it Anyway?, Dream of the Dog (Finborough Theatre and West End), Coriolanus (RSC), Hello and Goodbye and Three Sisters (receiving Evening Standard Awards for both productions). Most recently she has featured on screen in Sinbad and the forthcoming drama, Labyrinth. Directing credits include the 2010 Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse production of Antony and Cleopatra, and award-winning productions of the Johannesburg Othello, The Free State and Death of a Salesman.

Design is by Peter McKintosh whose Chichester credits include Festival 2012's Uncle Vanya, Love Story (which later transferred to the West End), The Scarlet Letter, Just So and Pal Joey. Other credits include The 39 Steps (West End and Broadway), which received Tony nominations for Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design, Crazy For You (Open Air Theatre Regent's Park and West End), the West End production of Butley and Hello, Dolly! (Open Air Theatre Regent's Park), for which he received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Costume Design.

Lighting Design is by Paul Pyant, whose Chichester credits include Separate Tables, Aristo, I am Shakespeare, The Scarlet Letter, Six Pictures of Lee Miller, King Lear, Electra and Talking Heads. Other theatre credits include The Heretic (Royal Court Theatre), West End productions of Flare Path and The Tempest, Richard III (Bridge Project London and New York), Grief (The National Theatre) and Noises Off (The Old Vic and West End).

Sound Design is by Sebastian Frost, who received the first ever Tony Award for Sound Design of a Musical for Sunday in the Park with George on Broadway, following its runs at the Menier Chocolate Factory and West End. Other theatre credits include the 2010 Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse production of Antony and Cleopatra, Decade (Headlong), and the West End production of The Glass Menagerie.

The composer is Corin Buckeridge, whose Chichester credits include Arcadia, Chimes at Midnight, Blithe Spirit, She Stoops to Conquer, The Power and the Glory, Major Barbara and A Man for All Seasons. Other theatre credits include 'Tis Pity She's A Whore, The Merchant of Venice, Richard III and A Warwickshire Testimony (all for the RSC), Jumpers (National Theatre and Broadway), West End productions of Becket, The Cherry Orchard and Arcadia (West End and Broadway).

Antony and Cleopatra is a co-production with Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse.

Antony and Cleopatra is sponsored by Jackson-Stops & Staff and LockheEd Martin.

Antony and Cleopatra is at Chichester Festival Theatre from 7 – 29 September, Evenings 7.30pm (except for the Press Night on Friday 14 September, 7.00pm), Matinees 2.15pm. Tickets: The University of Chichester Previews £10 - £27, Previews/Press Night £14 - £33, Evenings/Matinees £15 - £36. To book online, go to cft.org.uk or contact the Box Office on 01243 781312.

A Pair So Famous is a talk in which Professor Tony Howard of Warwick University explores Antony's Rome, Cleopatra's Egypt and the stage history of Shakespeare's epic play. Saturday 15 September, 5.45pm, Steven Pimlott Building. Tickets are free but must be booked in advance through the Box Office on 01243 781312.

After Words is the chance to join some of the Antony and Cleopatra cast and creative team after the evening performance on Tuesday 18 September to learn more about the production.

 

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