This is not your average Antony and Cleopatra but believe me, that is a good thing. Moving the setting (if not the text) to Haiti under the domination of French Dictatorship allows the company to play the stiff Europeans off against the native sensualities and highlights the differing cultures, beliefs and societies. This marked difference, one that perhaps a modern audience can grasp faster than the the supposed Egyptian/Roman difference, provides all the backdrop to the plot that is required on an essentially bare stage. The cast, in costume and mannerisms, provide the remaining clues as many of them double being now Egyptian, now French; this is a small cast (10) but we are never left wondering who's who.
Tarell Alvin McCraney has done an excellent job on the script, editing it into a coherent version that carries the story at speed; interestingly he does include the oft-omitted triumph of Caeser at the start of Act 3 ... normally a bit of an interlude it works well in this occasion and re-grounds us in the Haiti/France context. Tarell's direction keeps up the pace throughout, even adding some humour to keep us going, and the use of spoken scene breaks, and even sometimes stage directions, is highly effective in helping the audience to keep up with whizzing around the Mediterranean at high speed between the short, almost filmic, scenes.
This is definitely an ensemble piece and fortunately there are no weak performances. I particularly enjoyed the work of Chukwudi Iwuji as Enobarbus, Chivas Michael as Mardian (and more!) and Henry Stram (Lepidus/Proculeius). The cebntral lovers, played by Jonathan Cake and Joaquina Kalukango really come into their own in the second half when I found them completely engaging and credible ... the ending raisd the hairs on my neck in a way no production has done since Max Stafford-Clark's Macbeth.
This is a short run, which is a shame, try to see it ...
This is a co-production between the RSC, The Public Theatre New York and GableStage Miami.
