Review Roundup: ANTONY & CLEOPATRA at Shakespeare's Globe

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 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.

See what the critics are saying...

Debbie Gilpin, BroadwayWorld: 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.

Kate Wyver, The Guardian: In the second half of the play, Shakespeare is preoccupied with the men at war, as Antony and Caesar stomp their feet and argue over the future of empire. All heavy drums and the slow-mo clashing of swords, these scenes hold less energy than the more domestic moments in court. For this production belongs to the women. All eyes are on Cleopatra and her loving, giggling servants, who are ready to respond to her every dramatic whim, desperate to put the “odd worm” to their own chest rather than live without their queen.

Julia Rank, London Theatre: Though the production is something of an endurance test, it's worth remembering that hearing audiences who don’t know BSL are merely required to spend two-and-a-half hours between the hearing and Deaf worlds – such a sense of dislocation is something that the Deaf community is essentially required to navigate on a full-time basis. It's a powerful contemporary message for this classic play.

Chris Abbott, West End Best Friend: This bilingual production of Antony & Cleopatra is an interesting take on a complex and sometimes puzzling play; the interplay of spoken language and BSL adds some new dimensions and illuminates where there might otherwise be a tendency to obscurity.

Louise Burns, The Reviews Hub: 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.

Fiona Mountford, iNews: This must have seemed like such a good idea on paper. Yet as the old saw goes, theatre does not happen on paper, but on a stage. If any theatre was going to attempt a fully integrated bilingual production using spoken English and British Sign Language (BSL) it was going to be the Globe, a venue always at the forefront of kicking down perceived barriers to access and equality. Unfortunately, the finished product is dismal, nigh-on incomprehensible and with almost no depth of characterisation.