BWW Reviews: CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA Meet at the Sphinx for a Night of Shavian Wit

Reviewed Friday 4th April 2014

George Bernard Shaw's 1898 five act play, Caesar and Cleopatra, opens Independent Theatre's 30th anniversary year. This is a big show, in all respects, and eminently suitable for such a big occasion.

Informed that Julius Caesar and his legions are approaching Alexandria, Cleopatra runs off and falls asleep on the paw of a Sphinx. She awakes to find Caesar there, but does not know who he is so confides in him that she is afraid of being eaten by Caesar. He wins her confidence and they return to Alexandria, when Roman troops arrive and greet Caesar. She is relieved to find the man she feared is her new friend.

He becomes her mentor, like Shaw's other duo, Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolitttle, taking her from a sixteen year old girl and moulding her into a queen, and leader of the Egyptians. Like Higgins, he enjoys her company and teaching her, but out of sight out of mind and he has no real attachment to her, whereas she feels an affection, of sorts, for him.

That main theme runs through the play, but there are plenty of other allegiances, conflicts and political intrigues to contend with. Even within the Roman ranks there are factions. Followers of Gnaeus Pompey were opposed to Caesar. Cleopatra was fighting her brother, Ptolemy, for the rulership of Egypt. There is, of course, the tension between the Egyptian and Roman armies, as well.

Ftatateeta, Cleopatra's nurse, has power over her, and is unhappy when Caesar gives Cleopatra the strength to reverse the situation. Ptolemy's tutor, Theodotus, guardian, Pothinus, and general, Achillus, are the power behind the throne, and are unhappy to see Cleopatra's power on the wax, as Ptolemy's is on the wane. Caesar is supported by his second-in-command, Rufio, and his British secretary, Britannus, but opposed Lucius Septimius, and then there is the merchant from Sicily, Apollodorus, who aligns himself with Cleopatra.

The driving forces behind this company are its founders, Rob Croser and David Roach, and they co-designed this production, with Croser also directing, and Roach playing Caesar. Their enormous experience is behind every production, which gives this company a great advantage. Assisting with the design this time is Nicholas Ely, who also plays Pothinus, who has created some amazing 3D projections that work in with the physical set and Matthew Marciniak's lighting to more realistically create all of the locations. The set is most impressive, with fours elaborate columns, one at each corner of the stage area, a huge archway, the paws of the Sphinx, and more, with all but the four columns being moved around between scenes.

Croser has assembled a strong cast for this production and Roach, as Caesar, and Alicia Zorkovic, as Cleopatra, head up the production with some excellent characterisations and, very importantly, a great rapport exists between them. Shaw writes well-developed characters and so finding actors than can bring out all of that is imperative. Croser has found just the right two, and a fine collection of actors for all of the other roles to create a very even ensemble. He establishes a good balance between the dramatic content of the play and the comedy of Shaw's witty dialogue.

Roach portrays Caesar as a complex character and he embraces the various facets in a rich performance: the warrior and military leader, the man worrying about his age and ability to continue a physically and mentally demanding career, and the politically astute man who indulges that interest by gleefully meddling in the affairs of the Egyptian royalty. This is an intelligent and coherent reading of the role and Roach makes a superb Caesar.

Zorkovic takes her Cleopatra from being a quite naive teenager, through a growing self-confidence and new-found strength, to the emergence of the woman who would become a queen. Zorkovic still maintains a degree of petulance, and playfulness within the characterisation, though, as well as giving Cleopatra the ruthless streak that enables the audience to accept that she is quite happy to dispose of her brother, Ptolemy, in order to become the Queen.

Bronwyn Ruciak makes her character, Ftatateeta, a real wildcat, virtually spitting and snarling at anybody she feels is threatening Cleopatra, or her own dominance over the young woman.

Caesar is assisted by Ruffio, played by Keith Wilson, and Britannus, played by Michael Pole. Wilson cuts a good military figure, and handles the comedy well, whilst Pole is the very British Briton, complete with monocle and white ankle socks beneath his sandals, .getting loads of laughs from Shaw's script by playing it straight. Too many people fail at comedy by trying to hard to be funny, but Pole is too experienced to fall into that trap.

Mark Mulders makes Ptolemy something of a not too bright spoiled brat, with a touch of bully, who is led on by his advisors who intend to use him as the figurehead for their own activities. Theodotus, Allen Munn, Achillas, Matthew Hein, and Pothinus, Nicholas Ely are a good comic trio that works, again, because of good characterisations.

Angus Henderson gives his lively interpretation of the merchant, Apollodorus, a touch of the Pirate King, a hint of Captain Jack Sparrow, and a goodly sprinkling of Arthur Daily, but without falling into caricature. There is consistently good work in the minor roles, too, giving a consistent and coherent production.

Independent Theatre is known for the consistently high quality of its productions, and this is yet another real winner that will please audiences but, as always, don't wait too long to book.

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