Salt and Sage Productions ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA And TROILUS AND CRESSIDA

Salt and Sage Productions' Antony and Cleopatra and Troilus and Cressida will be performed in rotating repertory at Shaking the Tree.

Directed and Adapted by Asae Dean with Heath Hyun Houghton

Scenography by Trevor Sargent

Costumes by Summer Olsson

Featuring Alwynn Accuardi, Alex Albrecht, Allison Andersen, Enrique Andrade, Osvaldo Gonzales, Sara Hamar, Murren Kennedy, McKenzie Rummel, Samson Syharath, Ajai Tripthani, Eric Viale, R. David Wylie

Dates: July 2019 - August 2019

Times: Thursday, Friday, Saturdays at 7:30, Sundays at 4pm

Location: Shaking the Tree Theatre

823 Se Grant St, Portland, OR

The fiery, passionate love affairs of Cleopatra and Cressida that catalyzed and defined the course of history. Set against a backdrop of geo-political intrigue as generations fight for control of the Mediterranean. These plays examine love and power on an epic scale, as the tragedy of war tests the bonds of connection forged by the two sets of lovers.

In the summer of 2018, Salt and Sage workshopped The Lover's Project: Troilus and Cressida, Antony and Cleopatra, and Romeo and Juliet. Selected scenes were shown at Shout House Theatre, as part of a deep dive exploration of these epic stories of love and war, from the personal to the societal.

In fitting with Salt and Sage's mission to center women both shows have been amended to center the female characters. Cressida disappears early in the fifth act of the original and speaks little between her wedding to Troilus in the middle of the play and her final appearance. Salt and Sage's Troilus and Cressida adds dialogue throughout the piece to make Cressida more central in her own story. And while Shakespeare gave Octavius Caesar the final words in Antony and Cleopatra as was the convention for the highest status character to have the last word, Salt and Sage lets Charmian close the show.

Cleopatra could not be more distant from Cressida: an older woman in full command of a country, as experienced in matters of the heart as those of state, femininity is one more weapon to deploy. The contrast of Cressida and Cleopatra explores the limits of sexuality as a form of liberation and love as an antidote to war.