The bonkers
Titus Andronicus aside, the Roman plays aren't among my favourite
Shakespeares, but they're hard to avoid this year: The RSC is basing its entire
summer season around them, and only a week after seeing Ivo van Hove's
Roman Tragedies I'm in Stratford-upon-Avon for a full take on the play that provided that
epic with its climax:
Antony and Cleopatra starts with Mark Antony (Antony
Byrne,) who was among the victors at the end of
Julius Caesar (which I'll be
catching, out of order, in a few weeks' time,) as part of a Triumvirate sharing
power over the Roman Empire. Lepidus (Patrick Drury) is older and a voice of reason,
but the younger Octavius Caesar (Ben Allen) is more unpredictable, and could make a
play for sole power if he thinks Antony's no longer up to the task of maintaining an
empire.
