Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Darko Tresnjak
Synopsis:
Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare's unforgettable study of mature lovers who sacrifice all for love, is also a study in two cultures: the formality of Rome pitted against the sensuality of Roman Egypt. Shot through with rich language and charged with a Chekhovian sense of regret, this is one of the crown jewels of the world's dramatic poetry. Though the play is often staged on a grand scale, The Duke on 42nd Street permits an intimate staging.
NEW YORK TIMES:
"Lucid though it is, the staging fails to channel the complicated currents of the play effectively. We never get a sense of a mighty world undergoing radical change as an age of mythic figures and romance gives way to an era of efficient, practiced bureaucrats and politicians. As they flit around that sliver of pool against the soothingly attractive seascape, the characters seem more like guests at a high-end Mediterranean spa than like players in a titanic struggle for the future of an empire."
Read the whole review HERE.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS:
"It's great, tragic stuff - sexy, bloody and with enough intrigue to float a barge down the Nile. Unfortunately, the Theatre for a New Audience's presentation is a mixed bag wrapped in a concept by director Darko Tresnjak that doesn't deliver. "
Read the whole review HERE.
THEATERMANIA:
"According to inexact records, William Shakespeare put quill to vellum for Antony and Cleopatra in 1608. In the 400 years since, the title characters have undoubtedly been interpreted in uncountable ways, but it's unlikely they've ever been the colossal boors they are in Darko Tresnjak's Theatre for a New Audience production of Antony and Cleopatra at the Duke. When Antony (Marton Csokas) at long last succumbs to his self-inflicted sword wounds and that toothy famous snake snuffs Cleopatra (Laila Robins), audience members in heaping numbers may mumble something like "Thank heavens, those two have finally turned up their classical toes." "
Read the whole review HERE.
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