History remembers Cleopatra and Mark Antony primarily as lovers, but romance was only one part of what brought them together. Cleopatra was a ruler fighting to preserve Egypt's independence, while Antony was a Roman general caught in the bitter struggle for control of Rome. Their relationship unfolded as the Roman Republic collapsed, making their personal choices inseparable from the political forces that would prove to be their undoing.
While I knew the broad outlines of their story, I wasn’t especially familiar with Shakespeare’s play. Some reading beforehand revealed a more politically charged drama than the popular image of the doomed lovers suggests. Melbourne Shakespeare Company’s production of
Cleopatra & Antony, directed by Sonya Suares, brings its intrigue, tension and ambition into fortyfivedownstairs’ basement.
