Clearly displeased with the shoddy hack work
that William
Shakespeare turned in on Julius
Caesar and Anthony and
Cleopatra, Bernard Shaw
set out to right the wrong in 1898 when he came forward with his
own version of
the story (or more correctly the back-story) for his play, Caesar and
Cleopatra. If Shakespeare could put words into the mouths of these
iconic
historic figures, so too could Shaw. The history that ensues has less
to do
with the final years of the Ptolemaic Dynasty and more to do with
Shaw's own
thoughts on war, peace and the conquest of empire. And with his wry
sense of
humor he portrayed the whole thing as a kind of cynical jokeŅon the
world.
Since this late season opener at the
The production, directed by
In the next moment we are introduced to
Cleopatra, a
quavering young girl who is still learning how to be a woman, much less
a
queen. Nikki M. James as
Cleopatra is at once fetching, demanding, feisty,
fearful, immature, inquisitive, flippant and at times downright funny.
She is
the perfect juxtaposition to the aging, wry and cynical Caesar that
Watching Mr. Plummer ply his craft, one
realizes (young
actors pay attention here) that theatre is really where it's at with
regard to
the art of acting and all of that film and television stuff is fine for
the
money a day job can bring but it will never take you into the heart and
soul of
the art form. Many actors achieve commercial success, fewer can be
called
artists. Christopher Plummer is one of the great artists of our time.
In referring to the late William Hutt,
another pillar of
the Stratford Festival who passed away last year, Plummer once remarked
in an
interview: "No one could ever underplay Bill Hutt." Apparently today no
one can
under play Christopher Plummer. With all of the ballyhooing in and
around the
Egyptian court; Cleopatra's struggle against her brother Ptolemy (
But enough on Mr. Plummer, he'll never
develop any
character if I go on further.
Accolades are equally deserved by
Robert Brill's
illuminated set design gives insight into
why this whole period initated the Egyptomania of its day back in Rome
while
Paul Tazewell's costumes (and in one scene lack of costumes)
were always
captivating.
The ethnographic optics of the production is
strongly
multiracial in its approach and I'll leave it to the anthropologists to
determine
the actual hue of Cleopatra's skin. I personally found it delightful to
see a
very young and beautiful black woman finally being given the
opportunity to
play the title role with people of color also being used in other major
roles.
Ironically this comes at a time when the Shaw Festival itself (down the
road in
Niagara-on-the-Lake) is being accused of limiting opportunities for
actors of
color to only minor, servant type roles. Shaw would have loved the
debate I'm
sure.
Hard line Shavians need not fear that that
this
production is only melodrama and cheap laughs. The humor comes directly
out of
the clever structure of the play that Shaw devised and the pathos is
drawn from
the universal understanding that the world today is not all that
different from
the ancients. The politicians decry that war is an honorable enterprize
and
that the self-sacrifice of soldiers is always brave, noble and just.
But don't
worry Ņ the tragedy and sorrow of all this only sets in on the drive
home.
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