Or, more properly, The Tragedy of Antony, translated from the play by Robert Garnier by Mary Sidney. A five act neo-classical tragedy, the play focuses on the forces ranged against Antony and Cleopatra as they face their final defeat. Questions of fate and Fortune’s wheel are debated as characters ask how they got to where they are – and the ultimate question as to whether they should fight on, or kill themselves in the face of the enemy. Servants and friends support and refute the arguements made by Antony and Cleopatra as to how they should face defeat. Act Four presents the situation from the other side of the fence, as Caesar hears of the fate of his enemy Antony, and a Roman chorus talk of the struggle of fighting in a civil war. All these elements are components of the neo-classical form, where debates are had over central themes – however, that isn’t to say the play is without either emotion (these are very high stakes arguements) or momentum. Though it is a tough text, it is a rich one, and rewards the audiences attention.

Below is a playlist featuring our Full Cast Audio Adaptation and sooo much detailed background on the text. There is also a First Look Exploring Session available.

There is a direct sequel to this play, in Cleopatra by Samuel Daniel (audio production recorded at our 2023 Winter Revels, release to follow). Daniel wrote two versions – the first (published in 1594) was so very direct a sequel that you have a literal breath between the end of Antony and the opening of Cleopatra. His later version (1607) tries to stand as a solo effort and kinda erases the earlier play.

The play has a small cast, which could double down to very small indeed, should you be so inclined. Not including his corpse in Act 5, Antony actually only appears in two scenes – the opening monologue, and a dialogue with Lucilius in Act 3. However, the play is firmly about him, and when he is not on, he is the subject of all the discussion. Whilst as a modern audience we might want Cleopatra to be less Antony focused in the play, she does generally get better scenes to play. The back and forth between her and her handmaidens Eras and Charmion have a pleasing shape, and the final image of the play (her cradling the body of Antony) is striking. Act 4, in the Roman camp with Octavius Caesar and Agrippa, is again all about Antony – and you could insert the actor into the scene as his death is related by Dircetus the messenger. (We conflated Dircetus with Lucilius in the audio production, as it made sense that Antony’s death should be related by a character we had already met.)

Neoclassical drama can be surprisingly effective, especially when released from the page. Whilst the speeches are long, and the focus required from the audience immense, in the right hands these works reward. However, some cheating is reasonable. Cutting the opening two acts would be adviseable, as there is a lot of chorus and Philostratus the philosopher talking about the general state of things – following on from Antony’s opening speech, it’s a lot of speech before actual dialogue in the Act 2 Cleopatra scene. There is also a question of race within the text – as here Cleopatra is coded as someone with alabasta skin. This is something we aim to address in future stagings, as the way Cleopatra is figured in various texts highlights a whole series of issues with race and sexuality which have not gone away.

Adding to this text, you can dip into material from Samuel Daniel’s play Cleopatra, which gives a producer a whole host of opportunities (and burdens) in sculpting a production – or productions – around this moment in history and these famous figures. Stretching out a hand further, there are so many plays about Rome and this moment, that a season (multiple seasons) of work is possible.

Go Beyond…